Haunted High
by Sacrowhunter
Summary: Hidden Leaf High School is a high school like any other, only difference is, it's plagued by vampires, ghosts, ghouls, and other members of the undead. Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru hunt these monsters and keep their classmates safe, even if they don't know it. Pairings undecided, except Sasuhina.
1. Chapter 1

Hidden Leaf High School Haunted High Chapter 1

AU: This is the first chapter to my Haunted High series. Let me know what you think, and also what couples I should put in this series, I had some already decided on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke sat in the living room of Naruto's house on the couch. He had his keys in one hand as he waited for his friend. He looked down at his wrist watch and his frown deepened.

"Come on, Naruto, we're going to be late." Sasuke said.

Naruto came running around the corner wearing a cloak over his normally bright orange t shirt and jeans. "I can't find my weapon, and I can't kill it without a weapon."

"It's just a spider demon, how tough could they be?" Sasuke said leaning back as Shikamaru entered Naruto's house and collapsed on the couch next to Sasuke.

"You guys still aren't ready? This night is already turning into a drag." Shikamaru eyed Naruto. "What are you wearing?"

Naruto smiled and pulled out two more cloaks with hoods and a symbol on the back. "Come on, they're our group outfit. The hoods will hide our identities as well make us look cool."

Sasuke and Shikamaru looked down at the cloaks in their hands. Sasuke sighed, he was right, about the hiding their identities thing. It was weird for Naruto to think of something like that.

"Do we really have to wear these things?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just do it he might have a point here." Sasuke said, "As much as it pains me to admit, Naruto is right."

Naruto smiled as he went back to his room and emerged a few seconds later with a knife. They all got up and left Naruto's house to get in Sasuke's car. Sasuke started it up and they were driving through the cool night.

The leaves of mid-autumn fell all around them as they pulled up to an old two story house. Leaves of varying colors cracked under their feet as they moved down the walk way to the house. They were silent, or needed to be for this time.

Sasuke stood one side of the door with Shikamaru on the other. Loud banging and crashing noises could be heard from inside the house. They ran in with Naruto right behind them and stopped at the sight of a giant spider.

The spider turned to them and arched its legs to jump. They moved out of the way of the spider's massive body as it slammed against the staircase by the door, crushing it under its weight.

"It's bigger than I expected." Shikamaru said.

"That's what she said." Naruto said moving away from the spider that was standing up again.

"Naruto, really not the time," Shikamaru said grabbing a scroll from behind his back. He ran and slapped a tag on the spider's leg before it got up fully. Shikamaru chanted some words into the scroll and the demon began to get sucked towards the scroll.

The giant spider writhed and twisted its legs around, smashing up the walls and floor as it was pulling into the scroll. Shikamaru continued to chant as the giant spider shot web and smashed him into the wall. The vortex in the scroll stopped.

Sasuke ran forward to the scroll and moved before the spider could crush him. Naruto pulled out his knife and stabbed the spider demon in one of its legs. The spider kicked him into a wall, successfully knocking him unconscious just like Shikamaru.

"Damn it, you two." Sasuke said as he pulled a sword from underneath his black cloak and cut down Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's eyes opened as Sasuke ran to stand between the spider and Naruto. The spider lunged at him and he stabbed the blade into its face. The spider flung Sasuke and his sword away. Sasuke got to his feet just as Shikamaru was doing the chant again, this time right behind the spider.

The spider was absorbed into the scroll and they finished the sealing with a seal on the scroll. Shikamaru picked up Naruto as Sasuke investigated the cocoons that the spider made for survivors.

"Anyone live through this?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke looked through the cocoons and found one with a little girl inside, and she was still breathing. "I've got one, a little girl."

"At least one made it."

Sasuke and Shikamaru drove the little girl home as they headed back to their own homes.

Naruto smiled in the back seat of Sasuke's black Camaro. "How much trouble could a spider demon be? Well that was one hell of a demon."

Sasuke sighed. "Shut up, Naruto. We took it down didn't we?"

"Actually I took it down. You two were almost eaten." Shikamaru said.

"Hn," Sasuke said. "You would've been demon spider food if I didn't cut you out of that cocoon."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, fine, but Naruto didn't do a thing."

They both laughed as Naruto yelled at them both.

….

Sasuke stifled a yawn as he entered the Hidden Leaf High School's main building. HLHS, that was the school here in the little town of Konoha. Konoha was a town that had more monsters, demons, and other supernatural beings than a book written by Stephen king.

And it was up to Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru to fight the evils of the night. They were the only ones who knew about the strange things that happened in their town. They knew that the disappearance of their classmates was usually caused by a supernatural entity.

The high mortality rate was just another one of those things that everyone that lived in the town got used to.

"Hey, Sasuke, that was one hell of fight last night wasn't it?" Naruto said walking up to his friend.

"Hn," Sasuke said. "Yeah, and we have another one tonight."

"We do? Can't we have just one night off?"

Sasuke walked away from his friend as soon as he went through his locker and headed towards kakashi's classroom. He entered without knocking and sat in a chair across from Kakashi's desk. Kakashi was reading a book like usual.

"Sasuke, I'm glad you're here." Kakashi said in his calm tone. "How'd the hunt go last night?"

"It was fine, the demon was a little tougher than we thought it would be, but we still sealed it."

"Good to hear," Kakashi said. "I haven't heard anything lately, so you guys have the night off tonight."

Sasuke smiled before turning to leave.

"But, Sasuke, one more thing," Kakashi said.

"What is it?"

"Be careful out there."

"Hn," And Sasuke was out of the room, leaving Kakashi to silence, and his book.

….

Sasuke exited the main building by himself and started his walk home. It was a windy autumn day with leaves falling from the surrounding trees. It was tranquil, or so Sasuke thought. He couldn't complain about having the day off either.

Sasuke stopped when he heard a rustling in the leaves that wasn't caused by the wind. He turned to see a shy girl duck quickly behind a tree, but not fast enough, because he caught a glimpse of her dark blue hair.

"Who's there? Come out, now." Sasuke said, his voice was calm, like usual.

Hinata, girl with the dark blue hair moved from around the tree. Her cheeks were a deep rosy red, but he knew that wasn't their natural color. She had beautiful pale eyes, it was the second thing he noticed then he noticed her clothes. She wore a blue sweater, gloves, and a matching scarf.

"Hinata," Sasuke said in a low voice. "Why are you following?"

Hinata stepped out behind the tree and looked anywhere but his eyes. "I w-was wondering if you've seen Naruto."

Sasuke sighed as he looked down the street. "Sorry, not since lunch."

"Oh, okay." Hinata said.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked.

"Um, well, there w-was something else I wanted to ask you?"

Sasuke watched her intently. She turned a darker shade of red and turned her gaze to anywhere but his eyes. He noticed that and turned his head. "What'd you want to ask?"

Hinata tapped the ends of her fingers together. "Well I-I was wondering, umm never mind."

Sasuke watched Hinata run off. He looked on confused and agitated. Whatever, he thought, and walked towards his home at the end of town.

….

Shikamaru curled up on his couch. He was tired and a little bit sore from last night. Sasuke's news of the night off was music to his ears, and sounded even sweeter to his aching body. They needed to find an easier way to kill monsters.

Shikamaru got up and grabbed a book off his shelf. He didn't care which one, as long as he was able to read, and then sleep for a few hours. Even if they had the night off, that didn't mean that nothing would happen tonight, and he would be ready if they were called to duty.

Grabbing a book on monsters, he walked up stairs to his room, and shut the door. He lay on his bed and began to read. The stories in the book weren't entirely accurate or all that interesting. After fighting monsters for a few months he thought he knew a thing or two about the creatures that stalked and killed the human race.

A crash and a thud shook Shikamaru from his thoughts as he stood quickly and reached for his knife hidden behind his dresser. It was a long knife that was almost like a mini machete.

A beast, twice his size and covered in fur, jumped through his open window and stood at its full height right in front of Shikamaru. It bared its teeth and growled a deep throaty growl. This would normally freak him out but after the night he just had, a werewolf would be child's play, as long as he could get his knife.

Shikamaru backed against his closet door and grabbed the handle. The beast jumped, he pulled the door open, the beast flew through the door, and he slammed the door shut and laid back against it. It wouldn't keep him constrained for very long but it would give him enough time to find his knife, at least he hoped.

Shikamaru's door opened. He didn't have time to react when Ino walked in the door holding some books in her hand. She brushed her blonde hair back and sat on his bed.

"Hey, your mom told me you were up here," Ino said. "What are you doing sitting against the closet?"

Shikamaru ground his teeth. "I'm sorry, Ino, can we do this in a little? I need to change first and I didn't want you to see how messy my closet was."

Ino nodded. "Yeah sure, Shikamaru, but you never cared about your messy room before?"

"I'm turning over a new leaf." He said and shooed her out the door. She left with haste and Shikamaru grabbed his knife off of the dresser and backed away from the closet.

The nob shook, and turned furiously. The knife was now raised to eye level. The closet door flew off the hinges and crashed into Shikamaru. He pushed the door off just in time to see the werewolf jump out his open window and into the night.

Shikamaru let out a breath and moved the door back to the closet. Ino ran in the door after he did and stared at him with wide eyes.

"What happened?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru frowned as he leaned against the wall by the closet. "A wild dog jumped in here after you left and then jumped out the window again." The door behind him fell off its hinges again and hit the floor with a loud thud.

Ino's eye brow rose at the door on the floor. "A wild dog, really?"

Shikamaru looked at the floor, whispered under his breath, and then spoke. "Yes, and I need to go."

….

Kakashi walked down the stairs to answer the door. He opened it to Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke, all wearing grim looks.

"Who died, please tell me no one died?" Kakashi asked.

They all entered and sat on the couches in his living room.

"I was attacked, like an hour ago, by a werewolf." Shikamaru said.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, that is troubling; did something happen to you two?"

"Nothing happened to me." Sasuke said.

"I was sleeping when Shikamaru and Sasuke woke me up." Naruto said, stifling a yawn.

Shikamaru turned to the window. "Do you think it means something, Kakashi?"

"I don't know but we'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow. You should all go home and sleep for now." Kakashi said.

Shikamaru looked disturbed but then shook it off and walked out the door with the others, and back into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Haunted High Chapter 2

AN: Happy Halloween!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

The sun was just coming up when Naruto was shook from his sleep, once again. His eyes shot open but he still couldn't make out the blurry figure standing above him in the most ominous way. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and tried not to fall back asleep.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto asked as he came into a sitting position on the bed.

"You need to get up, idiot." Sasuke said as he walked over to curtains and opened them, letting the sunshine flow into the room.

"What time is it?" Naruto asked.

"Almost time for school, and we're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

Naruto grabbed a shirt, pants, and his shoes off of the floor and walked towards the bathroom, while Sasuke tried to find a place to sit, Naruto's room wasn't very clean. Sasuke leaned against his doorway, so he didn't have to find a clean place to sit.

"Would you hurry up already?" Sasuke growled in frustration.

Naruto poked his head of the bathroom door. "I'm hurrying, damn," Naruto said. "What crawled up your butt and died?"

Sasuke turned away from the cause of his annoyance. "I didn't get much sleep last night, too busy trying to find a werewolf, while you on the other hand, were sleeping." Sasuke said. "And soundly at that,"

"Did you ever find the werewolf?"

"No, it's still out there," Sasuke stood and walked towards Naruto's front door. "But we will find it – tonight."

"We have to look tonight?" Naruto's voice came out more like a whine, than whatever he was intending.

"Yes, Naruto, this is our job you idiot." Sasuke said.

Sasuke opened the door just as Naruto ran out of the bathroom and grabbed his backpack. They raced out the door and met Shikamaru, who was sitting in the front seat of Sasuke's car.

"About time you two got here." Shikamaru said, "What were you doing, putting on your make up?"

Sasuke nearly growled at him he was so irritable. "I had to wake him up. He was still sleeping."

"He actually got sleep?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto frowned in the back seat. "Do you mean to tell me neither of you slept last night?"

Sasuke glared in his rearview mirror, while Shikamaru just sat in his seat quietly. They couldn't deal with Naruto's antics today.

….

By the time they got to the high school it was almost time for class to start. They raced through the doors and towards their respective classes.

Sasuke took his sweet time. He was never on time but he was still one of the top students. He was smart, and even with all his… extracurricular activity he could pull that off. Naruto was barely passing and Shikamaru was literally a genius.

Sasuke knew, as few others did, Shikamaru was a true genius. An unapplied genius, but a genius none the less, and he could easily be in the top percentage of all the students.

The classroom door was open, so Sasuke just walked in and took his seat. Surprisingly enough the teacher wasn't there yet. He was in the clear. He took his seat in the back, where no one else sat but him. The seclusion was good for him.

Sasuke barely noticed when the seat next to him was filled. He didn't even turn when he did notice. He just kept his gaze focused on his desk and nothing else.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the blue hair. It was Hinata. Hinata was sitting next to him. He looked forward and saw that all the other seats were taken.

Sasuke could feel her eyes partially on him, and he could see it through his peripherals. He turned and she did the same, avoiding eye contact at all costs. She was way too shy for her own good, Sasuke thought.

"Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke turned to her but kept his eyes on the desk. "What is it?"

"Umm," Hinata began tapping the ends of her fingers together.

"Spit out already, Hyuga." Sasuke nearly barked.

Hinata turned red in the face. "What are you doing for Halloween?"

Sasuke stared in her pale eyes.

He totally forgot that today was Halloween. Sasuke grabbed a book out of his bag and placed it on the table. He wanted to look as casual as possible.

"Halloween is a stupid holiday." Sasuke said and looked at Hinata's now sad expression. He knew he could be harsh sometimes but he never meant to be this mean. "What are you doing for Halloween?"

"Me, my sister, and Neji were going to watch horror movies. I was wondering if you weren't doing anything, that you would want to come over? I mean just to watch horror movies, with my cousin and me."

"Sorry," Sasuke said. "I have plans, plus I don't think Neji likes me."

Hinata's face reddened and she looked down. "That's f-fine then," she said. "Well maybe some other time, then?"

"Sure," Sasuke said nonchalantly as the teacher entered the room.

….

The school bell rang, letting everyone go and enjoy their Halloween. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto didn't have that option though. They walked out of the big building that was their school.

The dirt blew lightly in the breeze, and autumn clouds hung high in the sky. The cool air swept through the trees like water through rocks. Leaves of all different colors fell from the trees and cascaded the ground with a mixture of colors.

Sasuke had his eyes fixated on the clouds while Naruto and Shikamaru talked. They were sitting just outside the school. He paid little attention to them. He wasn't tired anymore, and he knew they would be going out tonight for two reasons: One it was a full moon and two because it was Halloween.

Halloween carried many surprises with it, but nothing they couldn't handle. They found out that these werewolves weren't the kind that couldn't control their transformations, and so they could be killed because they were in control of their beasts and still killing people.

Since yesterday there have been five animal attacks. The cops declared it to be caused by wild dogs, but wild dogs can't rip someone's heart out. Wild dogs don't eat hearts, though they probably would, if given the chance.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted into his ear.

Sasuke punched him hard in the shoulder. "What do you want?"

Naruto rubbed his shoulder before speaking. "I wanted to know if were trick or treating tonight?"

Sasuke gave him a dull stare then looked to Shikamaru, who just shook his head. "Trick or treating, what are you four?"

"It's fun though. Are we on duty tonight?"

"We're always on duty," Shikamaru said. "We need to find that werewolf tonight. This night is the final full moon."

"Do we have to?" Naruto asked. "I was going to ask if Sakura wanted to go to the movies tonight."

Sasuke and Shikamaru let out a sigh. How did he end up hunting monsters with them? Oh yeah, he was good at it, when he wasn't annoying them.

"Naruto, there's no time for girls and dating." Sasuke said, thinking back to Hinata.

"We need to focus on the task at hand, besides girls are just such a drag." Shikamaru said.

Sasuke stood up. "Come on, let's get going." He walked towards his car, tired of the conversation, and hoping to at least take a nap when he got home.

They got in the car and drove off into town.

….

Sasuke opened his door and walked to his room. He was too tired to care about anything before the night comes. He threw off his sweat shirt and fell down on his bed. His pillow was comfortable beneath his head.

The blanket was too far away for Sasuke to grab, so he just passed out fully dressed. His dreams weren't pleasant. He awoke a few hours later in the same position on his bed.

Sasuke stood and stretched. He looked out the window and saw that it was still light outside. He must have gotten an hour of sleep. It wasn't much, but it was more than he usually got. He walked towards the living room but stopped midway.

Sasuke closed his eyes and looked down. His hand tightened into a fist. "What are you doing here?"

A dark shape moved behind Sasuke. The shape was half covered in the shadow of the room. He stood a few feet behind Sasuke with the same dark hair falling around his face. He opened his eyes to reveal red swirling shapes within them.

"Can't I visit my little brother?"

"Itachi," Sasuke said. "This is all because of you."

"Foolish little brother, this would have happened regardless of my input. It was destiny, and this is your destiny. You will become just like me."

"No!" Sasuke screamed and swung out with his sword. The shape swirled around it like smoke, and it was gone. He was alone in the house again. Sweat ran down his face, he nervously wiped at it, and took in a soothing breathe.

The sword still hung in the air where he'd slashed. Sasuke would never become his brother, he would rather die first. The anger inside of him was starting to surface. He could feel his blood boil.

He eased his shoulder and arms, and placed his blade back in its sheath and headed for the door. Naruto, Shikamaru had a lot to do before the full moon tonight.

….

Naruto and Shikamaru stood on the outside of the town, in a small forest with Kakashi. They had to use live bait to try and catch the werewolf therefore, Naruto was the bait.

Naruto stood by a tree with a silver knife behind his back and wolf's bane on a necklace. The wolf's bane usually would keep the werewolf away but this was a special one. It attracted the beasts, and they hoped it would be enough for this wolf.

"How much longer do I have to stand here?" Naruto asked with his head hung low.

"When the werewolf comes, we'll attack it and you can move, got it?" Shikamaru said.

A shuffling in the bushes caused the group to tense up until they saw Sasuke walk through. He was dressed in their black cloak with his sword hidden beneath. He wore a bored expression, or maybe it was a pissed one. Naruto could never tell.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Hn, whatever, have you seen the werewolf yet?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Not yet, but it should be here any minute. What kept you?"

Sasuke turned his gaze and then met Shikamaru's. "I took a nap."

"Alright then let's get under way." Kakashi said and motioned for Sasuke to stand by him.

A few hours past and the moon started rising to the middle of the sky surrounded by stars. The group twitched at every little noise. It was nerve racking for everyone, even Sasuke felt the twitch a little. He'd never killed a werewolf before. He'd never fought a werewolf before, none of them have.

Naruto rocked back and forth in his spot by the tree. "Can we go home yet? I'm getting pretty tired over here?"

They heard another shuffle in the woods and they all tensed once again. This time the shuffle was followed by low growls and giant furry body. Naruto gulped deep and waited for the beast.

The werewolf emerged from the woods with thick dark hair and deep red eyes. It stood over six feet, on its hands were claws of a creature that needed to rip flesh and cut bone, it was the same with the razor sharp teeth that hung from the mouth.

It didn't look human, not to Sasuke anyway. He placed his hand on his sword and they all waited.

The werewolf stepped forward, slowly, menacingly, with the eyes of a killer.

Naruto gripped his own knife as well as Shikamaru and Kakashi. They were all ready for the first attack.

The werewolf was a few feet from Naruto now. He could smell the beast's fur, dirty and blood covered. His breath came next and that's when Naruto almost froze.

The creature lunged, Naruto jumped up the tree and werewolf slammed its claws into a tree, cutting deep into the bark. The others jumped out to take it down.

Kakashi jumped but was slammed back with a backhand from the werewolf.

Sasuke stabbed his sword into its side and was thrown into the tree. A stabbing pain went through the back of his skull and everything started to fade. He forced his eyes open.

Shikamaru jumped from the tree with Naruto and stabbed the werewolf in the back and through the head. The creature howled in defeat and fell on the dirt, covered in blood that was his own.

Naruto pulled his knife from the monster. "I think we did that perfectly."

"That was easier than expected." Shikamaru said.

"A little too easy," Kakashi walked over to the beast and touched its neck.

"It's dead, right?" Naruto asked over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Yes, it's dead." Kakashi stepped away and pulled out a zippo. "All that's left is to burn he body."

Kakashi threw the zippo to Sasuke, pulled out some gasoline, and doused the body. Sasuke threw the zippo and the body caught immediately. They watched as the beast burned.

….

Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru were in Sasuke's car, ready for a good night of sleep. They deserved it after a long night of werewolf hunting, though the actual beast died easy. The waiting took far too long for any of their attention spans.

Sasuke drove silently down the main road that went through their town. None of them spoke, which was weird because they usually were all too talkative after a successful hunt. But something didn't feel quite right about this hunt.

Flashing lights of a police car and an ambulance were in front of them. They slowed down to a stop and got out to see what happened.

Sasuke walked over first and caught the mangled pieces of a body on a stretcher. There was a gaping hole in its chest. He clenched his fist.

"What happened here?" Shikamaru asked one of the cops standing by the rope holding out the crowd.

The cop walked over to them. "It was another animal attack, we need to get animal control out here."

Sasuke stepped forward. "Was the heart removed?"

The cop nodded. "Yeah, that was the only thing removed, though the body was torn to ribbons. I have never heard of animal that does that."

Sasuke stared at the mangled body being moved. He felt a tingle in the back of his mind. A small sound, almost inaudible, but it was definitely there. Sasuke froze when he heard it loud and clear.

"This is only the beginning, little brother."


	3. Chapter 3

Haunted High Chapter 3

AN:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed in his room, staring at a blank wall. The white wall seemingly stared back at him as he continued his gaze. His furrowed his brow and threw his hands up as he lied on his bed.

He stared at the ceiling next, and it also seemed to taunt him. Everything was getting on Sasuke's nerves, and it was only seven A.M. He fought with the urge to go back to sleep, and in doing so, found out that his day was going to suck.

The door to his room was pushed open and Shikamaru poked his head inside. Sasuke gave him a death glare but stopped when he saw he was unfazed by it.

"You awake?" Shikamaru asked.

"You can see that I am." Sasuke said as he sat up.

"Why are you always so pissy in the morning?"

Sasuke didn't feel like dignifying his question with a response. He pushed off his bed and grabbed a jacket from his closet. He threw it on quickly and grabbed his cell phone off the desk by his bed.

"You ready to go?" Sasuke picked up his back pack and yawned.

Shikamaru cocked a smile. "You know it, though you never answered my question."

Sasuke walked out the door and looked over his shoulder. "I thought it was rhetoric."

Sasuke and Shikamaru stopped just outside of Sasuke's house. A bunch of people stood in the streets looking up at something. They stepped closer to get a better look at what everyone was gawking at.

On a phone pole, not too far from where Sasuke's car was parked, a body was hung by its throat. The insides of the body were torn out, and the face was too messed up to guess what or who it could be.

The crowd screamed and stood shocked. Sasuke's fist curled into a ball. Shikamaru pulled out his phone and began to dial Kakashi.

….

"A disemboweling in public?" Kakashi walked from one side of his living room to the next. Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru sat on the couches in his living room.

"Yeah, it kind of freaked everyone out. School was cancelled because of it." Shikamaru said.

"Which is the only good thing to come out of any of this," Naruto said as Sasuke and Shikamaru stared at him. "What, I wasn't the only one thinking it?"

Sasuke looked at the coffee table that was in front of him. "It was a message," He said. I just don't know what it means, or who it was for."

Kakashi walked over to a tall bookcase. He ran his finger across the binds of the books before grabbing a thick tome. He threw the book down on the coffee table where Sasuke's eyes were fixated.

Sasuke jolted from his own thoughts when the tome slammed down with a heavy thud.

"There's no way we can know if it was a message or not," Kakashi said. "So we need to research a monster that would rip someone's insides out."

Sasuke passed his hand over the thick black book. He flipped it open. "Where should I start looking?"

"Try rituals and black magic first, and then move to demons." Kakashi said.

Sasuke flipped through the pages as Shikamaru and Naruto crowded around him. The pages were filled with pictures of creatures that haunted the nightmares of people who didn't know they existed. Some of the creatures had horns, some long claws, and almost all of the monsters shown had sharp or elongated teeth.

Finally they found the pages titles rituals. Sasuke studied each page carefully.

"Is that it?" Naruto asked and pointed to a black and white picture.

Shikamaru looked closer. "No,"

Sasuke continued looking through the book as Kakashi pulled out three more books, handing one to Shikamaru and the other to Naruto. The last book he opened for himself and started to read.

No one spoke, they just read. The sound of page flipping broke the silence every few seconds. Even Naruto just read and didn't speak. Sometimes he could see how serious their situation was, and how serious they needed him to be.

"Quick question," Naruto said raising his hand, causing everyone to look. "What were we looking for again?"

Sasuke stood up to go and smack him but was stopped by Kakashi speaking.

"I found something," Kakashi motioned for Sasuke to sit down. Sasuke lowered his hand and sat down reluctantly. "There's a ritual that requires a live human sacrifice, and the heart as well as other vital organs."

"What kind of ritual would need all that?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi placed the book on the table. "It's a necromancy ritual – one that raises the dead and allows you to control them."

"Why does everything that people do in this town so disgusting?" Shikamaru said. "What a drag."

Sasuke grabbed his cloak out of his back pack. "Okay, so where do we start looking?"

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "You see – that's the problem. We have no idea where to start our search. Necromancers are human, just like us, and can blend in pretty well with society."

Naruto raised his hand again. "We could check the local graveyard. Maybe the person they want to raise is in there."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "Sometimes, Naruto, you have good ideas."

Naruto smiled and laughed as they each threw on their cloaks. Sasuke grabbed his sword and bag. Naruto and Shikamaru grabbed their weapons and they all headed for the door.

"Hold on," Kakashi said and pulled them back into the living room. "You can't just go out there right now. Its day time and you could be recognized, plus necromancers usually work during the night."

The three walked back into the living room. They sat on the couch, released a long sigh, and sprawled out. Sasuke grabbed one of the books and started to read again as Naruto and Shikamaru sat in silence waiting for the night to come.

….

The graveyard was dark, darker than anywhere else in the whole town. There were no street lights, no stores that were close. There was nothing to breathe life into this place. An eerie fog floated over the graves like an ominous cover, with something terrible hidden underneath.

Sasuke pushed open the rust covered iron bars of the front gate that led to the graveyard. An earthy scent flooded his nose and caused him to cough. It was a scent you never forgot once it was there. It was an automatic memory trigger for Sasuke.

Sasuke glided, without sound, from one side of the graveyard to the next. He muffled the sounds of his feet, and kept to the shadows. The stone graves sent a chill down his spine as he huddled behind a tree.

Soft footsteps were heard in the distance.

Sasuke stayed behind the tree and peered out to see a darkly clad figure. He wore a cloak that covered most of his face, just like Sasuke's. He moved to a grave and placed something on it. For a second it looked like a flower until Sasuke took closer look.

A red rose was on the grave, a jar, a candle placed off to the side, and a book was in the figure's hands. He flipped it open and low chanting could be heard from where Sasuke stood.

Sasuke gripped the handle of his sword. There were two things that could be happening here. This could be a prayer, which was unlikely at this time of night. Or this could be the necromancer.

But how could he know for sure?

The flame of the candle lit instantly. Sasuke readied himself to move in on the attack. A hand popped out of the grave, soon a head, and finally a torso. The dead man pulled himself entirely out of the grave and as he did his skin began to recover his body. His hair grew back in patches, and his eyes refilled the empty sockets that were once black and hollow.

The corpse reanimated into a human man with long black hair, pale skin, and darkly colored eyes. Sasuke's eyes were dark, but this man had something darker in his eyes, something evil.

The man bowed and Sasuke moved a little closer to hear what they were saying.

"I did as you asked, my Lord." The cloaked man said, "I revived you on the night of the new moon, I even got you the organs you'd need to survive."

The recently dead man smiled an evil smile and raised his hands. "Rise, I didn't tell you to kneel."

The cloaked man did as he said.

"Now did you make the preparations?" The dead man asked.

"Yes I did, lord Orochimaru." The cloaked man said.

"Do you have all five?" Orochimaru asked.

The cloaked man removed his cloak to reveal silver hair and Sasuke recognized him from school. It was Kabuto, a kid a grade higher than Sasuke. Was he a necromancer? Sasuke thought.

Kabuto turned his head. "There are five? I only have one of them."

The smile on Orochimaru's face melted away. "We can't complete the ritual with just one."

"I know, my lord." Kabuto said, "But I don't know where the rest are."

The smile returned to the face of Orochimaru. "I know where three more are."

"We can start preparations right away."

Sasuke moved out of the covers and walked over but they disappeared among the shadows before he could get close enough to strike. He placed his sword back in its sheath, grabbed his phone, and dialed Naruto's number.

….

Sasuke walked into Kakashi's house and leaned against the wall in the living room as Naruto and Shikamaru walked in behind him.

Kakashi looked over them. "So how did the search go?"

Shikamaru spoke first. "There was nothing going on down at the abandoned warehouse."

"I couldn't find anything weird at the funeral home." Naruto said.

Kakashi looked over at Sasuke. "What'd you find, Sasuke?"

"I saw the necromancer," Sasuke said as he leaned forward in a standing position. "And it's Kabuto."

"Kabuto," Naruto said. "Are you sure about that?"

"That's who I saw," Sasuke moved to sit on the couch with the others. "He revived someone named Orochimaru, and they are looking for five of something, it was hard to hear exactly what they said."

Kakashi scratched his chin. "So Orochimaru is back."

"Do you know who that is?" Shikamaru asked. "I've never heard of him."

"He's a man who tried to perfect immortality through the use of stealing energy and organs from living things, most people. He was like a vampire, but this man wasn't a monster, not literally anyways. His experiments got him killed eventually, and everyone must've forgotten about him by now." Kakashi said.

"Do you have any idea what he was looking for?" Sasuke asked.

"That, I have no idea about." Kakashi walked over to his book case and grabbed a book. "I'll do some research and look for anything that has a connection with the number five.

"Can you remember anything else that might stick out, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over one of the books sitting on the table.

"Nothing other than the thing about the five," Sasuke said and looked down. "But Kabuto said they already had one of whatever they were looking for."

"Did you get a glimpse at what they were talking about?"

"No," Sasuke said looking away from them.

Naruto stood up. "Well I guess this means we can call it an early night right, Kakashi?"

Sasuke and Shikamaru got up to follow Naruto but Kakashi stopped them again before they could get out the door.

"Before you go, I need you to look into something for me." Kakashi said.

Sasuke turned around and looked at him with an annoyed look. "What is it?"


	4. Chapter 4

Haunted High Chapter 4

AN: Here's my fourth chapter and I'm happy about all of the positive feedback this has been getting. I realized I was using Sasuke too much for this story when I really wanted it to be equally about Shikamaru and Naruto as well. So this chapter is a little less just Sasuke.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

"I can't believe Kakashi wants us to break into the library, I mean isn't that illegal?" Naruto said as he and Shikamaru jumped through a window at the public library. They scaled the wall a few seconds before and now were hopefully not setting off any alarms.

Shikamaru stretched when they got to the floor of the library. "Yeah its illegal, but it's for the good of humanity. And what's good for humanity is kind of a drag for us."

Naruto moved between the towering isles of books. "Do you know what we're looking for? I wasn't paying attention when he explained it."

"I think he said there was a lever by one of these bookcases." Shikamaru said as he studied the books carefully. He saw a book on how to kill a ghost and took a mental note to check that out in the morning.

Naruto clicked on his flashlight and moved around the book cases, focusing on the floor. He shifted to the bookcase. Every secret door was opened by a trick book. His foot caught on something and he tripped, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey be quiet, do you want to get caught?" Shikamaru moved to where Naruto fell and saw the handle sticking out of the floor. "Look at what we have here."

Naruto stood and moved toward the door handle on the floor only slightly covered by part of the book case. He grabbed the handle and pulled lightly but it didn't budge. He grabbed with both hands and pulled like his life depended on it but it still didn't open.

"Well I'm out of ideas." Naruto said as leaned against the bookcase.

Shikamaru stared at the handle, at the bookcase, and then back at the handle. The bookcase was covering the door slightly. No matter how much they pulled on it it wouldn't open with that much weight holding it down.

"Maybe we can move the bookcase somehow?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru pushed Naruto out of the way, grabbed the handle, and slid it open.

"Or you can do that…" Naruto said and hunched his shoulders in defeat.

The hole had a ladder that led down into the dark of the underground tunnel. He grabbed the ladder and started climbing down with his flashlight between his teeth.

"Do we really have to go down there?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean wouldn't Kakashi understand if we couldn't break in or something."

A bunch of muffled noises came from the hole.

"Sorry I didn't quite catch that."

Shikamaru's feet touched the bottom and spit out his flashlight. "I said hurry up, you chicken."

"I am not a chicken!"

"Then get down here." Shikamaru turned his flashlight down the tunnel. The light illuminated the stone walls. Rats ran across the floor, evading the light.

Naruto touched the stone ground and moved quickly to stand next to Shikamaru. He focused his flashlight forward. A musty smell was coming from all around them, and it was almost too much for them to bear.

They moved along the walls of stone hall and made sure not to make any noise. A light shone brightly at the end of the tunnel. The light got brighter as they got closer until they got to a door with a lamp sitting outside.

They shared a look before opening the door slowly. They pushed through the open doorway and into a big underground room. The walls were lined from ceiling to floor with leather bound books. Many of the books looked older than the librarian that ran this place.

"Wow, how are we going to find the one Kakashi needs?" Naruto asked

"I don't know," Shikamaru said. "You start over there and I'll start over here."

They moved to their designated book shelve and began to search. They moved quickly from book to book but the search was difficult because most of the books didn't have the titles on the binds.

Naruto grabbed a brown leather book from one of the higher shelves and opened it.

"What are you doing here?"

Naruto jumped and dropped his book. Shikamaru stopped his search and immediately searched his mind for anything to say to the man standing in front of them. He had long black hair and pale skin, just like the man Sasuke described.

"We, uh, just got lost?" Shikamaru said.

"Got lost, well isn't that a shame."

Kabuto walked around the corner from a room at the very end. He carried a book in his hand. "I found it, lord Orochimaru."

"Kabuto," Naruto said. "What are you doing here?"

Kabuto looked at the two with a surprised expression on his face. "Naruto and Shikamaru, well isn't this a surprise."

"Cut the crap," Shikamaru said as he stepped forward with his knife. "What are you two after? We know you brought him back to life to find something."

Kabuto laughed and pushed up his glasses. "So you were the one snooping earlier tonight, well now that's a surprise."

"You never answered my question."

"I don't think I'm under any obligation to." Kabuto said, "But if you're so interested I can tell you that it's of the upmost importance and it would be especially important to Sasuke. Sasuke is the key here."

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked taking his own weapon in his right hand.

Orochimaru smiled showing off his sharp teeth. "Sorry but that's all you need to know for now." Orochimaru and Kabuto vanished from sight leaving Naruto and Shikamaru standing aloft.

Shikamaru eased his muscles and placed his weapon in its sheath as Naruto did the same. He grabbed the book Naruto dropped and smiled.

"At least we found the book Kakashi wanted."

….

Sasuke stood at a grave stone in the town cemetery. A solemn look painted his face as the wind slightly blew his hair from side to side. His onyx eyes gleamed in the light of the day and seemed to study the gravestone and its surroudings.

"Do you miss them?"

Sasuke turned at the familiar voice. Hinata stood a few feet from him with flowers in her hands. Sasuke locked eyes with her and to his surprise she didn't turn away her gaze. A few seconds of silence passed between them before Sasuke turned back to the grave.

"Sometimes I do." Sasuke said.

"I miss her every day," Hinata said and moved to stand beside him. "Some days I miss her a lot and some days it feels like she's still here watching over me."

"I feel someone watching over me but not the ones I want to see me." Sasuke said.

Hinata stepped closer to him and looked at the grave with him. The quiet reassurance was nice, and it was just what Sasuke needed. That night still plagued his thoughts and his dreams. He had the recurring nightmare at least once a week.

"Can I ask you a question?" Hinata's eyes tried to meet Sasuke's.

"Go ahead." Sasuke said without turning.

"Do you ever see them? I mean actually see them around you?"

Sasuke looked up and met her eyes. "I haven't seen them since that night."

"Do you dream about them?"

"My dreams are a confusing subject," Sasuke said. "I occasionally see images of them, like random pictures of them that paint the walls of my memory. I will see my father scolding me or I'll see my mom putting up a family photo in the hallway. I even saw my mom cooking once, but only as a picture, as a memory."

Hinata looked over at a tree swaying in the wind. The leaves had all fallen off of it and it was a bare memory of its former self, but it was still a beautiful sight.

"I saw my mother in my kitchen once." Hinata said with a smile, "She was wearing the same dress from the night she died. She wore a smile as well, I thought I was hallucinating. She said my name and then I passed out. When I awoke she was gone and Neji was staring at me."

"Did she say anything other than your name?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I think she mentioned something about a key and then said my name, but that's all I can rememeber."

Sasuke turned away from her. "I need to go, Hinata. It was – nice talking to you."

Hinata smiled as Sasuke walked out of the cemetery and jumped in his car to drive away.

….

"Hinata's mother is a ghost? Are you sure?" Kakashi asked from his comfy sofa seat.

Sasuke nodded. "From what she told me that might be the case," Sasuke said. "But she's not a poltergeist, just a messenger spirit."

"What message did she pass along?"

"She said something about a key, at least that's what Hinata got out of the conversation before she fainted." Sasuke moved sit on the couch.

"A key, well that might be connected to what I had Shikamaru and Naruto look into."

Naruto and Shikamaru walked in the doorway carrying a few books. They threw the books down on the coffee table and collapsed on the couch adjacent to Sasuke.

"You wouldn't believe the night we've had." Naruto said.

"Did you have any problems?" Kakashi asked.

"Well we ran into Kabuto and Orochimaru down there. They had a book too, maybe trying to find the same thing." Shikamaru said.

"That certainly is troubling." Kakashi said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh and get this – they said that their plans involve Sasuke." Shikamaru said and Sasuke perked up.

"Why me, did they say anything else?" Sasuke asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, that's all they said."

"Wait, they did say something else. They said Sasuke was the key." Naruto said.

Kakashi grabbed one of the books. "The key, that's interesting. The book I wanted might hold the answers we seek." Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I think the key message that Hinata received was meant to find its way to us."

"So it was a message for me, from Hinata's mom?" Sasuke questioned.

"I don't know yet, but I'll call you guy's when I find something more on this subject." Kakashi said and pushed them toward the door.

….

Shikamaru was laid about on his bed. He had a book pressed to his face and that kept his mind from overthinking the current situation. He shifted his feet to dangle over the edge of his bed.

"Shikamaru," Shikamaru's mom yelled up the stairs. "You have a lovely guest down here."

"Send her up." Shikamaru said, not moving his eyes from his book.

The door opened and Ino stepped inside. Her blonde hair fell beautifully down her shoulders. She smiled at Shikamaru, her childhood friend, who sat up finally to greet her.

"What's up, Ino?" Shikamaru said.

She gave him a confused look. "I thought we were supposed to study for the chemistry test together, you know the test is tomorrow?"

Shikamaru cursed under his breath. "Yeah I knew that," He lied. "Sorry I've been busy lately."

"Too busy even for me?" Ino feigned a hurt look until Shikamaru shared her smile.

"I'm never too busy for my best friend." Shikamaru gave her a smile as he grabbed his backpack.

"I thought Choji was your best friend?"

"He is too."

Ino sat on the edge of his bed and started to rifle through her own backpack.

"We don't keep secrets from each other do we?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru stared at her blankly for a second. "No, we've known each other too long for that." He suddenly realized the lie in that statement.

"So you'd tell me if you had a secret girl friend?" Ino asked.

"What are you talking about?"

Ino looked annoyed. "Don't think I haven't seen the signs. You leave me and Choji anytime you get a text out of nowhere. You drop everything at that text and we don't see you for hours."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't have a secret girlfriend – things just come up."

"Right, things come up that much?"

"You sound very jealous right now."

Ino's cheeks turned red. "I'm not jealous. I just wonder where you go all the time."

Shikamaru smiled. "That's definitely jealousy I sense."

Ino turned away. "Whatever, I would never hide anything from you."

"I'm not hiding anything from you and Choji." Shikamaru said as he pulled out his chemistry book laid it on his bed.

"So there's nothing you're not telling me?" Ino asked.

"If there was something to tell I would tell you." Shikamaru kept a straight face.

Ino locked eyes with Shikamaru. She turned away then met his eyes again. "I believe you."

Shikamaru's phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the text from Sasuke. He cursed under his breath and turned to Ino. "I need to, uh, go."

Shikamaru got up and quickly left the room, leaving Ino staring after him. Sasuke was so going to pay for this.

….


	5. Chapter 5

Haunted High Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Shikamaru kicked at a small rock as he walked around the block to get onto Kakashi's street. The street lights were all on and most of the cars that drove by were heading home for the night. The walk wasn't too bad since he lived relatively close but it was still a hassle having to walk out on Ino like that.

She's definitely going to kill him at school tomorrow. And he would have nothing to tell her. There was nothing he could tell her. Well he could say, "Sorry I had to go kill monsters with Sasuke and Naruto, and by the way monsters exist."

That would definitely get him thrown in some kind of mental facility. At least it would be safe from monsters, he hoped.

Shikamaru walked up the stone steps that led to Kakashi's two story house. He stopped on the door step and looked up at the door that loomed over him like a dark figure. He twisted the handle and pushed into the warm air of the house.

He followed the voices to the living room, which is pretty much where they always met. The fire place was lit and flames danced beautifully off of the wall behind Sasuke and Kakashi. Shikamaru sat on the couch beside Sasuke.

Shikamaru's eyes glanced around the room. "Where's Naruto?"

"Asleep probably," Sasuke said and grabbed his phone off of the table. "I sent him a text message but he didn't reply."

"So what life threatening news has come up that we need a meeting this late?" Shikamaru asked and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

"It's only eight-thirty?" Kakashi said as he pushed Shikamaru's feet off of the table.

"And that's late for me. I like to be asleep by nine. This monster hunting thing has really messed up my laid back lifestyle."

Sasuke brushed a hand through his black hair. "We need to focus, the werewolf has been sighted again."

Shikamaru's face turned serious. "Where?"

"According to my sources," Kakashi started. "There was a reported sighting of a big hairy dog in the downtown plaza. No one was hurt during the incident but a few were scared half to death."

"So where do we start looking?"

Sasuke looked from Kakashi to Shikamaru. "We don't have a clue."

Shikamaru's face slackened. "Couldn't you have just texted me all that information? I didn't have to be here to hear that we haven't gotten any closer to finding this thing."

"You told me to text you when new information came up and it did, so here you are." Sasuke said.

Sasuke's phone started to vibrate. He grabbed and the caller id said Naruto. "Hey where are you… well get over here the werewolf was found… not tonight but we'll look tomorrow… fine bye, idiot."

"So, where is he?" Shikamaru asked.

"He begged Sakura to go to the movies and she finally gave him a yes."

"So he can ditch but I can't?"

"Nope," Sasuke and Kakashi said at the same time.

….

Hinata brushed her dark blue hair in the mirror. She smiled as she did so and hummed a tune. She was happy and she didn't know why. She wore a beautiful white dress that she had just put on.

She put down the brush and walked down stairs to the living room where Neji and Kiba were sitting watching TV. She stood in front of the TV and smiled at them both.

"So what do you guys think?" Hinata asked as she did a twirl.

"You look fine, but you're blocking our show." Neji said and made a shooing motion with his hand.

"Neji, you're my cousin, so what you say about this doesn't matter."

"What are you so dressed up for anyways, Hinata?" Kiba asked.

Hinata moved away from the TV and sat on the love seat opposite of them. "Tomorrow is the dance, and I want to look good for it."

"Well," Kiba said. "You do look good, but who do you need to look that good for?"

Hinata blushed and pretended to watch TV. "Well, I was thinking about asking if Sasuke had a date."

Neji jumped to his feet. "No, you can't go to the dance with that smug bastard."

"And why can't I?" Hinata asked.

"Because he's an Uchiha and you're a Hyuga. That should be reason enough."

"You're still mad because he beat you in that karate tournament last year." Kiba said with a laugh.

Neji's face turned red as he turned to Kiba and said. "This has nothing to do with that… He cheated by the way."

"So I can't go with him because you hate him?" Hinata said with a bored expression on her face.

"Exactly," Neji said and threatened to punch Kiba who was still laughing at him.

"Then that's all the more reason to go." Hinata said and walked away before Neji could argue further. She smiled to herself as she heard Neji smack Kiba for laughing.

….

Naruto walked out of the movie theater with Sakura at his side. The moon was out and vaguely covered by the clouds looming over head. There were a few people leaving the theater to get into their cars but Naruto and Sakura walked there.

"That was a good movie, did you like it?" Naruto asked.

"It was okay, I've seen better recently."

Naruto walked down the dark streets of Konoha with Sakura. Not much was said, mostly because talking was not Naruto's strong suit. He was usually viewed as loud and annoying by most the girls in the school. And that was especially for Sakura.

"It's a nice night at least." Naruto admired the cool breeze blowing through his short blonde hair. He looked over Sakura. Her pink hair was still just as nice in the dark. But her blue eyes seemed to glow in the night.

Naruto was in over his head when he started liking Sakura. He was already missing some of his duties to hang out with her. He knew Sasuke would be mad and most likely Kakashi, but he didn't think Shikamaru would be.

"What are you staring at?"

Naruto jumped and shifted his line of sight. "Nothing… I wasn't staring."

Sakura smiled to herself and went back to watching the streets.

A shift in the night air caused Naruto to tense up. His eyes darted around the dark. The shadows danced in his eyes like flames against a wall.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked just as Naruto maneuvered her to stand behind him.

Three guys stepped out of the shadows. The one in the leather jacket and spiked black hair wore a smile as he played with a knife that was in the flap of his jacket.

"You two look a little lost," he said. "I could help you find your way home."

"We don't want any trouble." Naruto said but figured that they wouldn't leave them alone and they were in fact looking for trouble. "Just go about your night and no one has to get hurt."

The guy that wore the leather jacket had a smirk grow on his face. "You think you're tough kid? I've peeled gum off of my shoe that was tougher than you."

Naruto smiled. "And I've seen things that are much scarier than you, no offense."

The shadows morphed, a shape loomed within. Naruto grabbed Sakura and jumped to ground. The dark shape jumped from the shadows and knocked the three guys standing in front of them to the ground.

The figure stood at its full height with its fangs and claws extended.

"What the hell is that?" The man with the leather jacket stared at the werewolf standing above him. Its eyes focused in on him.

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I need you to go get Sasuke and Shikamaru, now."

"I can't leave you here with whatever that is."

"Yes you can. Go, now and get them."

Naruto stared into Sakura's eyes for a long moment. She nodded, got up, and moved away just as Naruto stood and revealed a knife from his sweatshirt. He stood and stared at the beast.

The werewolf grabbed the man on the ground by his face. The claws dug slightly into his skin. The werewolf threw the man by his face into the wall. He hit it hard and crumpled to the ground beside the wall. The other two men backed away slowly before running away at full speed.

Naruto stepped forward. He was eye to eye with the beast. He ran at the werewolf but it just jumped out of the way. He dove again with his knife aimed for its heart.

The werewolf grabbed Naruto's hand, crushing till he dropped the knife. It took his hand and wrist and threw him into the nearby wall.

Pain shot through his back and shoulder. A crack was on the wall where Naruto had hit it. The crack extended all the way up to the roof. He knew something was definitely broken. He reached around and touched his shoulder, pain aroused from his touch. It was definitely bruised and more than likely broken.

He got to his feet. The pain was intense but bearable. Naruto ran at the werewolf and kicked it in the chest, it fell backwards, and hit the ground hard. Naruto smiled but the beast was already grabbing and throwing him into a big green trash can in the alley.

Naruto pushed himself to his feet by sheer will power. His mind wrapped around his consciousness to keep himself awake, if he fell unconscious now he might end up in a coma.

The werewolf growled at him bearing its teeth. Naruto didn't have the energy to get up again. He forced his eyes open.

"Why couldn't you try and kill me after my date, you stupid werewolf?" Naruto said as his surroundings began to go black.

Shikamaru and Sasuke showed up with Sakura. Sakura ran to check on Naruto. The werewolf took one look at all of them and ran away.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto. "Is he okay?"

Sakura turned. "Yes but what was that thing that attacked us?"

Sasuke peered over his shoulder at Naruto and weighed the situation. "I have no idea what that was but we need to get Naruto some medical attention."

….

Sasuke stood by Naruto's bed in the hospital. His back was against the wall facing the window. The size of the room made him feel claustrophobic but that was an issue for a later time.

Shikamaru stood by the window, while Sakura sat in the chair beside his bed. Kakashi came by and checked on him, as did his parents, but mostly just Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Sakura sat by his bedside.

Naruto moved in his bed and his eyes opened to a blurry white room.

"Look who's finally awake." Shikamaru said and smiled at his friend on the bed.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, then his head, and looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"Naruto," Sakura threw her arms around him. "You're alive, I'm so glad."

Naruto's face turned red before he turned back to Sasuke and Shikamaru. "I'm in the hospital, wait, what happened?"

"Let me go get you a nurse." Sakura said and ran out of the room.

Sasuke waited till she shut the door to speak. "You were attacked by the werewolf and have been out since yesterday."

"Did you catch it?"

"No, it ran away as soon as we got there." Sasuke said, "You were pretty banged up so we brought you here to get treated."

Naruto looked down and grasped the sheets. "I can't believe that wolf beat me."

"Hey, look at the Brightside," Shikamaru said with a smile. "You're not dead, are you?"

The door opened to Sakura, but just Sakura. "Okay, I have one question." They all stared at the girl with pink hair standing in the doorway. She closed the door and stood in front of it.

"What was that thing?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto then at Shikamaru. "You're going to want to sit down."

….

End Note: So this chapter was a little bit of a break from my main story but I think the addition of Sakura was kind of essential for where this story is going. Also, who should I pair Naruto with? Sakura or someone else?


	6. Chapter 6

Haunted High Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

"So they're all real?" Sakura asked in total shock.

Sasuke nodded. "Most of them are. I don't think the boogeyman is a real thing."

They sat in the small room of the hospital. Naruto lay quietly in his bed and watched and listened more than talked.

"Do vampires exist?"

"I haven't seen one yet." Sasuke said as he peered out the window.

"And you three hunt these monsters, as like what, a hobby?"

"Nothing like that, it's more like we were picked to."

"Picked, by who?"

"Destiny or maybe it was a series of coincidences I'm not exactly sure." Sasuke ran his fingers through his black hair. He moved his bangs from his face and thought back.

Sakura looked down at Naruto then back at Sasuke. "How'd you three get into this?"

Shikamaru stepped forward. "I started hunting these things after almost being killed by a ghost." Shikamaru said, "And these two were already hunting these things before that."

"So how'd you two get into this?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto's father used to hunt these things. He passed on what he knew to him and Sasuke had a bad experience." Shikamaru answered for them.

Sakura looked into Sasuke's eyes, those dark hollow circles. "What happened to you?"

Sasuke's face darkened, he turned to the window, and found comfort in the sight of the rain falling against the pane of glass. It was a placid view and calming sound that covered the silence.

Sasuke began to speak but his voice trembled and his tone changed from hurt to angry, and back to calm. "I lost my parents and brother to demons."

Sakura looked away almost wishing she didn't ask. Sasuke wore a pained expression that she couldn't forget, never before has she ever seen Sasuke look anything other than mad at the world and now she knows why.

"Got any more questions?" Sasuke asked, not mad but in his usual calm tone.

"No, that's it for now."

Sasuke nodded to Shikamaru. "Then we need to get going. Naruto, heal up quick we have to find that werewolf before others get hurt."

"What you're still going to make him do this?" Sakura asked.

"We need him to do this. We need all four of us to kill this werewolf, its special."

Sakura looked down at Naruto before her eyes connected with Sasuke. "Let me help you guys."

Sasuke frowned at her. "There's no way we're letting you get into this."

"It's not your decision to make. Its mine and I want in."

Sasuke brushed his hand through his hair and let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine, but you need to meet us at Kakashi's after school."

"What about the dance?"

"What dance?" Sasuke asked.

….

Sasuke walked into the giant building that they called the high school. He was having an off day already with everything that happened to Naruto, and now Sakura…

She at one point was one of Sasuke's 'fangirls' as he would call them. They were a group of girls in junior high that used to ogle him. They held a very special spot in his hate filled heart. Right next to his brother.

Sasuke walked down the hallway and ignored the many faces of the people he knew. The people who knew him and the people whom he didn't know just melted together in a mixture of adolescent faces that moved around him like a river rushing by.

"Hey, Sasuke," A boy sitting on a bottle of water with a straw sticking out of the top said. He had white hair and a sharky smile.

"Hey, Suigetsu, what are you up to?" Sasuke asked as his friend circled around to stand on one side of him.

"You know, the usual, I just asked Karin to the dance." Suigetsu sipped the water and then smiled. "So who are you going with?"

Sasuke frowned and directed his gaze on his locker. "I'm not going."

"Why not?" Suigetsu said, "A lady killer like you could practically go with anyone, right?"

"I don't do dances." Sasuke said.

Sasuke grabbed several books from his locker and shoved them into his back pack. He zipped it up and threw it over his shoulder just as another one of Sasuke's friends came around the corner to stand on Sasuke's other side.

"Jugo, would you please talk some sense into Sasuke." Suigetsu said and slid against the locker.

Jugo smiled and also leaned against the locker on the opposite side of Suigetsu and Sasuke. "I think that's Sasuke's choice to make, not ours."

Suigetsu let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh man, I forgot you were just as boring as Sasuke."

Suigetsu and Jugo laughed and Sasuke wiped his hand across his face.

"Why am I friends with you two?" Sasuke showed a slight smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

Suigetsu looked over Sasuke and smiled with a wide grin. "Don't look now, but I think you're going to have some company Sasuke."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and saw Hinata walking his way. She wasn't going to walk past him because she was clearly coming towards him. The two moons that were her eyes were fixated on him, they wouldn't make eye contact, but they were clearly looking at him.

"We'll let you have your privacy." Suigetsu said and pulled Jugo to the other side of the locker and turned their backs.

"This isn't giving him and privacy at all, Suigetsu." Jugo said, clearly confused.

"Shut up and pretend to not pay attention."

Sasuke sighed and whispered. "You know I can still hear you."

"That's the point." Suigetsu said as Hinata walked over to Sasuke.

Hinata's eyes refused to meet Sasuke's. She tapped the ends of her fingers together and Sasuke recognized it as a nervous habit. He attempted to make eye contact but she instead focused on the floor.

"Um… Sasuke, I was wondering if y-you were going to the dance this Friday." Hinata barely managed to all but squeak out those words. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders on both sides, the color of her hair made her moon like eyes appear even more captivating.

"What about the dance?" Sasuke asked and Suigetsu squirmed with a concealed laugh. Sasuke elbowed him hard in the spot her knew his ribs were.

"I-I-I was wondering I-if you had a date yet–" Hinata trailed off for a second and then blushed. "But you probably do because you know, you're you, and every girl wants to be with you, and never mind me then because—"

Sasuke grabbed Hinata's slender shoulders to stop her from shaking and talking at the same time. "Hinata, I'm sorry. I'm not going to the dance with anyone. It's nothing personal, I already have plans with Naruto at the hospital."

Hinata's shoulders slumped and her facial expressions saddened. "Oh okay then, I'm sure you're busy."

"You have no idea." Sasuke gave her a weak smile. She smiled back before walking off.

Suigetsu shook his head as he came to stand in front of Sasuke. "That went well."

"Shut up, Suigetsu." Sasuke was in no mood.

"All I'm saying is that took a lot of guts to ask and you shot her down with a lame excuse like vising Naruto at the hospital."

"It's not an excuse that's what I'm doing on Friday."

"And since when have you and Naruto been so chummy anyway?"

"Hn," Sasuke said and walked to his next classroom. He was done with that conversation and needed to cleanse his mind with some school work. He couldn't go to a dance. He was way too busy to go to a dance.

….

Shikamaru walked out of his Anko's English class with Choji. The day so far had been anything but interesting. He forgot to study for the test and nearly failed it buts somehow pulled out a decent enough story summary of a book he never even read.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru, you were really quiet during last period?" Choji asked his friend.

Shikamaru broke from his thoughts. "Huh, oh sorry, I just didn't get much sleep last night and that test was such a drag."

"Aren't all of Anko's tests?"

Shikamaru laughed at that. The new English teacher seemed to give the lamest tests on books that shouldn't even be called classics. Grammar was his least favorite part of that class. Shikamaru reads a lot, of course, but never the assigned readings.

The classics just bored him to tears.

"So are you going to the dance Friday?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru placed his hands on the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm gotta ask someone first."

"Who're you going to ask?"

"Ino,"

"Ino?"

"Yep, Ino."

Choji opened his locker, which was right next to Shikamaru's. He pulled out the books that he would have to take home to study with and left the others behind, Shikamaru did the same.

Shikamaru slammed his locker shut and spun the dial. "I just think, I kind of haven't been able to see her lately. This way we could go do something and I kind of… well owe her."

Choji slammed his locker. "How do you figure?"

Shikamaru thought for a second then snapped his fingers. "Do you remember last week, at her birthday dinner I had to leave early because something came up?"

Choji nodded his head.

"I owe her for that, plus there's isn't really an abundance of girls who are lining up to go with me. We could just go as friends and… have fun."

Shikamaru walked off with Choji close behind. He walked through the crowded hallways of the high school, bumping elbows with too many people. He finally got through to where Ino's locker was. He could see her bright blonde hair and blue eyes.

She smiled as he walked towards her. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him away. He turned into another friend of his, Temari. She wore a seductive smile.

"Hey, Shika, are you going to the dance?" Temari asked and flashed him a smile.

Shikamaru smiled back nervously. "A-Actually I was about to—"

"Great, do you want to go with me?"

Shikamaru froze, literally froze.

….

Sasuke stepped out of the school's main building with Suigetsu and Jugo at his side. They talked and he tried to listen but his mind was elsewhere, pretty much like it always was. His feet hit the sidewalk and he took some comfort in the sound his shoes made against it.

"Hey, Uchiha!"

A familiar voice, Sasuke thought, and turned around slowly to see Neji, Kiba, and Tenten standing behind him. Neji wore a frown that was only matched by his glare. He was out for blood, and for some reason calling out Sasuke.

Kiba stood to his side, a wide grin painting his usual expression. Tenten hung nervously to Neji's side. She was clearly trying to talk him out of whatever he was about to do.

"What is it, Hyuga?" Sasuke stayed calm as he said his name. He wasn't in the mood.

Neji's glare intensified at the way Sasuke said that. "What'd you say to Hinata?"

Hinata, what about her, he thought before matching Neji's glare with his own. "I didn't do anything to her."

Neji began to grit his teeth. "You must've said something to her, the way she looked all day. What'd you do to her?"

"Nothing," Sasuke said just as Neji took a step forward.

"Okay I tried being nice but I guess I'm going to have to force it out of you." Neji said.

"Hey, Neji, we're not looking for a fight." Suigetsu said, "But I'm not going to let you and Kiba fight Sasuke. That's unfair fight – I mean Sasuke would kill you both."

"What'd you say shark mouth?" Kiba growled at him.

Suigetsu stepped forward but Sasuke put his arm up to keep him back. "No, Suigetsu, don't fall for their taunts. Let's just go."

Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Jugo turned and walked away.

Neji put his hands around his mouth and shouted. "Don't you walk away from me? We're not done yet."

"Just keep walking." Sasuke said and ignored Neji.

"Fine, just walk away, Uchiha trash."

Something in Sasuke's mind snapped. The once calm river exploded inside his mind like a stick of dynamite.

"Now he's done it." Suigetsu said and placed his hand on his head.

Sasuke turned and walked back to where Neji stood. "What'd you just say?"

"You heard me." A smile played on Neji's lips, one that made Sasuke's anger double in a matter of seconds. "I'll make you eat those words."

Neji smiled and ran at Sasuke with a flurry of punches. Sasuke dodged and blocked every single one and dropped low to kick out Neji's feet. Neji jumped and kicked at Sasuke. Each hit was blocked or dodged on both parts.

Sasuke could feel his anger about to explode. He grabbed Neji's shoulder and landed a good solid punch to Neji's chest, staggering him. Neji lunged at Sasuke and Sasuke side stepped him. Neji wasn't going to win this fight.

Sasuke stood ready to dodge Neji's next punch.

"Wait, stop it now!"

Sasuke turned to see Hinata screaming over the crowd that had gathered around them. Sasuke focused too much on Hinata and didn't see the punch that connected with a sickening crunch to the left side of Sasuke's jaw. He stumbled to the ground.

Sasuke started to get up and wiped his jaw, but Hinata came and kneeled beside him. Her arms surrounded him like the wings of an angel securing Sasuke in her embrace. Sasuke's anger evaporated in that hug and he noticed Hinata's eyes. There was something different about them.

"What are you doing, Hinata, this guy hurt you." Neji said.

Hinata turned to him angrily. "He didn't anything to me, Neji. I tried to tell you that but you were itching for a fight."

Sasuke stood up. "Thanks, Hinata. Suigetsu, Jugo, let's go."

Suigetsu turned back to the group. "It was nice seeing you, Hinata, and you too, dog breath."

Neji held back Kiba as they walked away. Suigetsu laughed and Sasuke was an even worse mood than before.

….

Sasuke knocked on the hospital door, got the 'come in', and opened the door. He sat on the couch next to Naruto's bed.

Naruto looked at the bruise on Sasuke's jaw. "And I thought I looked bad, what happened to you?"

"This," Sasuke said, pointing to his chin. "It's nothing, how're you holding up in here?"

Naruto smiled. "It's nice. I get free ramen, pudding, and the best part is no worry of monsters."

"So the wards we made are working?"

"Nothings attacked me yet, so I'd say yes."

Sasuke and Naruto laughed. Then the room grew silent. They stared at things in the room to try and make it not awkward. Sasuke switched sides so he could stare out the window.

"So are you going to the dance?" Naruto asked.

"No, I have to hunt a werewolf."

"I'm sure many somebody asked you."

"One person did."

"Who was it?"

"Hinata."

Naruto sat up in his bed. "Hinata asked you – the shy girl from our English class?"

Sasuke turned to him. "Why – is that hard to believe?"

"Just a little," Naruto said. "What'd you tell her?"

"I said no—"

"What?! You have to go to the dance."

Sasuke thought back to the hug. "Why do I have to go?"

"Because you can't just keep missing out on having fun because of this 'burden' we all carry. Don't let it ruin your life, dude, go and have fun."

Sasuke paced then stopped at the end of Naruto's bed. "Idiot… fine I'll go."

Naruto smiled a big goofy smile as Sasuke left the room.

Secretly, Sasuke did kind of want to go. He just needed some convincing.

…...

The stars plastered the dark sky. The moon was full and directly above the school. People from every grade, dressed in nice attire, walked through the school halls to the giant auditorium where the dance was being held. Couples walked hand in hand and friends joked and laughed as they entered the slightly more decorated building.

Sasuke waited till everyone was in the building before slipped inside.

Music blared and people danced about the dimly lit room. Streamers covered the usually bare walls, and balloons floated to the ceiling. There was a line of guys sitting on one side of the room, and girls on the opposite side.

Sasuke moved quickly through the crowds of people, trying to find Hinata. He bumped into someone and they nearly dropped their punch. "Sorry I didn't – Shikamaru?"

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." Sasuke said with a smirk, "who are you here with?"

Shikamaru nodded towards the blonde in the black dress.

"Temari?"

"Yeah,"

"I thought you would come with Ino."

"Believe me I tried but Temari ambushed me and I can't say no to a girl, you know that."

Sasuke looked over at Ino sitting quietly on one side of the room with Sakura. "You could still ask her to dance."

"What about Temari?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well," Sasuke said. "Kiba's been eyeing her all night."

Shikamaru smiled and walked over to Temari.

Sasuke's work was done here. He walked around in the dark until he spotted an angel sitting across the room from where he stood. Her white dress was beautiful and heightened her already beautiful eyes. He made his way across the room.

He stood in front of her just as the music changed to a slow song. Sasuke held out his hand until Hinata looked up. Her face visually brightened at Sasuke. She still wore a look of surprise as Sasuke grabbed her by the hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

Sasuke pulled her close. He could smell her sweet perfume and touch her soft hair.

"I thought you didn't do dances." Hinata said but it was barely audible.

"I made an exception, for a very pretty girl."

Hinata's face grew red and she hid in his chest as they danced to the romantic melody playing in the background. They danced through the song and everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Sasuke glanced over at Shikamaru and Ino dancing. Ino wore a smile that was as wide as Hinata's when she first saw Sasuke. He didn't know if Shikamaru knew that Ino was crazy for him but he'd find out soon enough. In the meantime he had to savor this moment.

Kakashi and Anko sat off to the side drinking punch.

"They sure look happy." Kakashi said as he sipped at his punch.

"Not too happy I hope." Anko said and smiled at Kakashi.

Sasuke and Hinata's eye met for a second.

A scream rang out from the hallway leading into the auditorium. Sasuke turned just as the doors swung open to the roar of a giant beast. The werewolf was back, and it was ruining everything again.

"What is that?" A girl asked as she backed away with her boyfriend.

Sasuke grabbed Hinata by her shoulders. "I need you to run away, get out of here as fast as you can. Okay, you just need to go."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Run through the back door and go." Sasuke said. Hinata nodded and ran for the door with every other student in the room except Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Sakura.

Kakashi ushered Anko out the door as well. He moved to stand in front of the beast.

"I just knew it would attack when we least needed it to." Sasuke said.

"Would you rather have it attack while we're sleeping?" Shikamaru said.

Kakashi motioned for them to run around the back, while he distracted it. They moved but the werewolf ran straight through them and pinned down Kakashi. He pulled a small knife from his belt and stabbed it into the werewolf's neck.

The werewolf staggered back and pulled the knife out, throwing it the ground. It landed with a clank on the hard linoleum floor. Shikamaru jumped on its back and Sakura stabbed it in the arm. The werewolf shook them both off and charged for Sasuke this time.

Sasuke jumped over the back of the beast and landed with a roll. It lunged again and he barely rolled out of the way. He reached down and realized he didn't have his sword with him. The one thing he needs most is at home in its sheath, of course it is.

Sasuke looked over at the knife that Kakashi used earlier. He dove and grabbed the knife just as the werewolf grabbed his leg and threw him across the room. He slid and watched the beast jump on him.

Sasuke had one chance at this. If he missed then this would be the end of his life. A very short life in retrospect, and there was no way he was ready to die. Just as the werewolf landed, he plunged the knife deep into the chest cavity of the beast.

The knife ripped through the tough skin and fur until it cut straight through the heart. Sasuke's arm was a little more than elbow deep in the werewolf's chest. He could feel all the muscle and bones rubbing against his arm.

Sasuke pulled his arm from the beast, which was now covered in werewolf blood and goo. Something fell from inside the werewolf, a small red glowing stone.

Sasuke stood up and wiped his arm off on the werewolf's fur. He walked over and stared at the stone for a minute before picking it up. It began to glow brighter as he did.

The werewolf disintegrated along with the blood that was on Sasuke's arm. Kakashi examined the stone that Sasuke held. "What do you think it is?"

Kakashi looked at it harder. "I don't know, but we need to examine it."

"Do you think I can hold onto this for now?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi tilted his head. "Knock yourself out, but we need to study it, so don't lose it."

Anko walked into the room and stood behind Kakashi with her hands resting on his shoulders. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Kakashi said as he helped up Sakura. Shikamaru was already getting to his feet.

"It looked like a werewolf. I haven't seen one of those in years."

"You've seen one before?"

"Yeah, my master killed one."

"I didn't think anyone else in this school knew about monsters."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Kakashi." Anko said with a sexy smile.

Kakashi smiled back.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "So we finally killed it, that thing was damn troublesome."

"Look at it this way, its dead now." Sakura said, "And it won't be harming anyone anymore."

Everyone nodded and started walking out of the auditorium.

Hinata met Sasuke as he was walking out. She wrapped her arms around Sasuke. "What happened in there?"

"A wolf attacked us… we got it leave though so it's okay." Sasuke said with a small reassuring smile.

Hinata smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Sasuke smiled too. He felt bad for lying to her but she probably wouldn't be able to understand if he told her the truth. She wouldn't believe him anyway.

….

In one of the classrooms in the school Orochimaru stood over two hooded figures. He raised his hand and the two rose to their feet. Kabuto removed his hood and smiled. His smile was twisted and sick.

"Speak," Orochimaru said to the still hooded figure.

"They got one of the keys," The hooded figure said. "Sasuke Uchiha has it."

Orochimaru's smiled faded, then returned. "You did very well, Anko."

Anko removed her hood and smiled at her master. "Thank you, lord Orochimaru."

….

A/N: A bit of a cliff hanger ending but it needed to be for what I have planned. So let me know what you think, thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Haunted High Chapter 7

A/N: I'm giving thanks to everyone who's reviewed. Thank you damnheart.o3, a smiles façade, Laura, Yuki, TachiAsh, Megane-usa-chan, strawberry chizoey, kikigirl4321, Rose the daughter of a demon, Charming Essence, sirenmergirl, Reaper of the Rebels, and all the guests who've reviewed also. Special thanks to the people who have made this story a favorite. Thank you CottonCandyMonster, Dark Butterfly11517, Rose the daughter of a demon, a smiles façade, kikigirl4321, m r s. g, sasuhina gal, and strawberry chizoey.

Thank you for reading and following this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke stood by the window in Naruto's hospital room. He kept a constant gaze outside the window, looking at the sun that shone through. Around his neck was the stone that he got when they killed the werewolf, the red stone was shining in the sunlight.

"So you finally got the wolf?" Naruto asked sitting up in his hospital bed. He had a hospital gown on but he was clearly well enough to go home.

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "It attacked during the dance."

"That's what Shikamaru told me." Naruto stared at his still bandaged arms and then said, "I wish I could've helped out."

Sasuke smiled. Something he rarely ever did. "Don't worry about it. You can get the next one."

"Yeah," Naruto said and smiled his goofy smile.

It became silent for a moment as Sasuke thought of the next thing to say. Naruto was happy to just have company.

"So… when did they say you would be let out?" Sasuke asked.

"I can actually leave tomorrow but they told me to take it easy, which means I won't be much help to you guys."

"You can't be any worse than Sakura." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Is she that bad?"

Sasuke put his hand on his face. "I don't want to talk about it."

A nurse walked into the room and smiled at Sasuke. She was a volunteer nurse and was only seventeen from the looks of her, and the looks she was giving Sasuke. Naruto smiled at her as she checked his bandages once again.

Sasuke waved to Naruto and smiled at the nurse as he walked out. She turned red and Naruto waved back. He was just like a kid, Sasuke thought. He smiled to himself as he walked out of the hospital.

….

Shikamaru ran down the street to Kakashi's house. He really needed a car or a bike. Either would do as long as they got him to where he needed to go faster. The bus was a good idea but it ran through more of downtown than where he usually went.

Kakashi's street came into view. He slowed down to a steady walk. He was already out of breath from the short jog. He was probably the most out of shape monster hunter in the history of monster hunters. He always imagined the big strong monster hunters like the ones you see on TV and in the movies.

He saw Kakashi's house and smiled to himself as he walked up the stone path that led to the door. Shikamaru pushed Kakashi's door open without knocking. "Kakashi, I have a new—"

Shikamaru stopped when he saw Anko in the living room with Kakashi. Were his teachers hanging out? That's not weird at all, except it really was. Were they dating, cause' that would make this moment a little more awkward.

"Shikamaru," Kakashi said with little surprise in his voice, but more than was in his voice usually. "What is it?"

"Can I talk to you in private?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi tilted his head then laughed. "No, no it's okay, she already knows about everything."

"What, did you tell her?" Shikamaru asked.

Anko smiled before speaking. "No he didn't tell me anything. I've known about the existence of monsters for a long time now."

Shikamaru stared awe struck.

"See, she already knew about them." Kakashi pointed at Anko. "So what were you going to say?"

"Well there have been reports of a haunted house on Third Ave. I thought we should maybe check it out."

"Where'd you find you're source?"

Shikamaru dug his toe into the carpet and put his hands behind his head. "Some of the kids from school have been talking about it. I think it's worth checking out, Naruto's getting out today so this would be a little easier for him."

"If it's not haunted that is." Kakashi said, "Ghosts are some of the hardest monsters to kill or rekill I guess. You have to find out why they're haunting that house and put the souls to rest for good."

"I knew that, well most of it anyway. Remember one almost killed me two years ago. So can we check it out?"

Kakashi put his hand on his chin. "I guess it would be a good way to get Naruto back into the role of things. Take Sasuke and Sakura with you too, okay?"

Shikamaru nodded his head and walked out of Kakashi's house.

"Do you really think that house is haunted?" Anko asked.

"I don't really know but it will give Naruto some more time to recuperate from his injuries." Kakashi said.

"They're just kids, why are they doing this?"

"Now, that's a story that would take a while to tell."

"I have time," Anko said and moved closer to Kakashi on the couch.

….

Two years before.

Shikamaru sat in class. He was dozing off to the lesson of Kakashi, the math teacher. He was called a genius but the word meant very little to him. He just wanted to graduate from high school and get a job and move on with his life. But his parents thought differently.

He was in every AP class available to freshman. He had AP English, AP Math, AP History, AP Physics, and PE, which wasn't AP because they didn't offer one. He wasn't really sure how they could make that AP.

Shikamaru didn't choose to be in these classes but his grades and test scores were off the charts. He had the same classes as three other students, also freshman. He had all his AP classes with Sasuke Uchiha, who was a total genius as well but not a nice guy at all, he was always scowling at people.

Hinata Hyuga was also in every class he had, she was the heiress to Hyuga Corp, a billion dollar corporation. He didn't understand why she went to a public high school but she did. She was incredibly shy and only talked when she was asked a question by the teacher.

The last person to be in every class with him was Sakura Haruno. She was alright for a while until she got an obsession with Sasuke. Every time she talked it was about him or how she would someday marry him. She got over about half way through the year but for a while she was such a drag to talk to.

They were arguably the smartest students in the entire school. There were a few students who were in some of his AP classes but those three were the only ones to be in every class with him. The only class he had with Ino and Choji was PE.

"That concludes today's lesson, class. I hope you all have a good weekend." Kakashi said and walked out of the classroom.

"Finally," Shikamaru groaned as he got out of his seat and threw his backpack over his shoulder. Everyone else in the class was doing the same thing.

Shikamaru ran for the door and got through the hallway before most students would be crowding the lockers. He opened his locker and grabbed his books as quickly as he could. He was out the door of the school building and on his way home before any other student even left the class rooms.

He really wasn't a people person, they were all so troublesome.

Shikamaru walked home and when he got there he found a note on the fridge.

"Went out for our anniversary. There's food in the freezer and we know you can use the microwave – love Mom and Dad

Great, frozen food for dinner, his favorite. Maybe he could invite over Choji and Ino and they could alleviate some of his boredom. He sat on his couch in the downstairs living room and flipped on the TV. He would call them later.

A few hours passed by and his friends still hadn't called him back. Could everyone be out doing something tonight but him? That was a lame thought and they would invite him if anything fun was happening. They were his friends after all, and have been since kindergarten.

He picked up the phone and started to dial but when he put it to his ear all he could hear was static. Shikamaru put the phone down and started to dial again but got static. He listened for a few more minutes and he could make out something that sounded like words.

Soon, a voice whispered into the phone. Shikamaru slammed the phone down. He calmed himself down, it was probably just a joke that Ino or Choji were pulling on them. Tapping the phone lines or something like that.

He put his focus back on the TV and ignored the phone. The lights in the living room began to flicker as did the TV. This joke was going a little far, he thought.

Shikamaru got up and checked the TV and nothing was wrong with it. He turned it off and went to his kitchen. The lights in there were doing the same thing. He went to the phone again and tried to dial 911 but instead got static again.

"No one can save you now." The voice didn't come from the phone.

Shikamaru froze when cool breath blew against his neck like someone breathing. He turned around and saw nothing. He was definitely freaked out now. The logical part of his mind began to run and consider every option. The words repeated themselves in his mind.

A dark shadowy figure appeared in Shikamaru's living room. Its face was bony, and where its eyes should be were two hollow holes. He wore ragged clothes that were torn and covered in blood spots.

Shikamaru was unsure what to do. His mind told him to run but his body told him he couldn't. The dark figure's cold gaze fell on him. Its mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp and bloody teeth.

"You're next." It whispered and moved slowly toward him.

The shock was still controlling his limbs. He sat in his chair and stared into the dark holes of his eye sockets.

His door flew open and Sasuke with a blonde kid he's never seen before ran in. Sasuke swung his sword and it went right through the figure. It turned around and grabbed Sasuke by his throat and threw him against the wall.

Naruto opened up a scroll and began to make hand signs. The ghostly figure turned towards him and raised its hand. Naruto started to float off of the ground but continued making the signs. He too was thrown against Shikamaru's wall.

Sasuke ran over to the scroll and continued the hand signs. The ghostly figure floated toward him but Sasuke slammed his open hand against the scroll. The ghostly figure began to be absorbed into the scroll. A symbol appeared on the scroll filling up one of the thirteen seals on the scroll.

"Are you okay?" The blond asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, but what was that thing?"

"It was a ghost." Sasuke said as he put the scroll away in his backpack.

"You hunt ghosts?" Shikamaru asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Among other things,"

Shikamaru's heart was pounding in his chest. It played like a dream with a fast pace and beat. "How can I join?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at one another. "It's not something that you can just decide to do." Sasuke said.

"Why would you want to join?" Naruto asked, "It's not like it's fun or anything."

"I want to repay you guys for helping me, and I need to know how to stop them if it happens again." Shikamaru said.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and smiled. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Fine, you can help us, but you have to ask Kakashi about joining."


	8. Chapter 8

Haunted High Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry about the short update this week but I've been busy with this Christmas stuff going on. I am out of school for the next couple of weeks but still I have other things to do. Starting next Wednesday there with a chapter update every Wednesday, and my other story will also have an update every week, but on Friday. Thanks for reading and stay with me for a little longer and all questions will be answered.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Kakashi and Anko were sitting on his couch. Talking like they had been most of the night, before and after Shikamaru came over. The story of Shikamaru was a simple one, not nearly as engaging as Naruto's or Sasuke's.

The trouble those two had… it wasn't something Kakashi liked to think about. Anko seemed to accept everything so easily – like she already knew most of what Kakashi was telling her. That worried him a bit but not enough to warrant a search of her background.

"I think it's time for me to go." Anko said, and burst Kakashi from his thoughts.

He stood with her. "Let me walk you to the door."

Kakashi walked with her to the entrance of his house and when he opened the door he saw Sasuke with a troubled look on his face. Sasuke looked from Kakashi to Anko, obviously confused, but he pushed his way into the house.

"I'll see you some other time, Anko." Kakashi said and she smiled and waved. He shut the door behind her and walked back into his living room where Sasuke was already sprawled out on his couch.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said in a low shaky voice. "I had the nightmares again."

….

Shikamaru stood outside of the house that he'd asked Kakashi if he could investigate. Naruto and Sakura stood off to the side, both waiting eagerly to be joined by Sasuke. Shikamaru threw a few gazes at the house and it wasn't a pretty sight.

The windows were almost all broken. The wood was old and became a decaying gray color. The paint that covered the walls was chipped and peeling on every side of the house. Cracks could be seen going from one side of the door to the upstairs window.

This house was in shambles, and no matter how much work someone put into it, nobody would want to live in it again. It was a mess and the perfect place for a haunting to occur. Though it was a little cliché for a rundown house to be haunted, it turned out to be like that most of the time.

Monsters didn't think of clichés. They thought of only their immediate goals, like an animal, but they usually had sinister plots if they were smart enough to think of them.

The soft footsteps of someone walking their way caused the three to turn. It was Hinata. She wore a confused look and had her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. Her hair fell down her shoulders messily.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata asked.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head and looked at the other two who appeared to be having the same problem. Shikamaru thought through the many lies he'd prepared if Ino ever showed up during one of his hunts but couldn't think of a single one for this situation.

"We're paranormal investigators." Naruto said.

Shikamaru wanted so bad to smack Naruto on the back of the head. He might as well just tell her that they're here to capture a ghost.

"You mean like those people on TV?" Hinata asked.

"Uh, yeah, except we don't get paid," Shikamaru added and wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his brow.

"Okay," Hinata sounded skeptical. "I came to ask you if you've seen Sasuke. He was supposed to do a project with me today and he wasn't at his house."

"We're actually waiting for him as well."

Hinata's head titled. "Does he do this too?"

"On occasion." Naruto said and looked over at Shikamaru.

"But we haven't seen him today," Shikamaru pulled out his phone. "He sent me a text earlier."

"Where do you think he could be?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Have you tried Kakashi's house?"

"Why would he be at Kakashi-Sensei's house?"

"Sasuke kind of looks up to him like a parental figure," Shikamaru sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than explain to Hinata.

"Uh, okay, I'll try there next." Hinata bowed and said, "Have fun with your… thing."

"Believe me, we will."

….

Hinata walked up to Kakashi's door. She stood in the doorway and raised her hand but stopped at the sound of Sasuke's voice from an open window. She lowered her hand and crept over to the window.

Was it wrong to ease drop? Yes it was, but she didn't want to interrupt their very important sounding conversation.

"How often are the dreams occurring?" Kakashi asked as he walked around the coffee table with a mug in his hand.

"It used to be once, maybe twice a month, but now I'm having them once or twice a week." Sasuke said.

Hinata wondered if Kakashi worked as a therapist when he wasn't teaching math. It didn't seem much like the sensei she knew though.

"Now is this the same exact dream every time?"

"Well, there are a few changes here and there but the same ending every time," Sasuke said and shot a forlorn look at the table. "I always see them die. The blood, the cuts, the walls are smeared, the memory is distorted."

"The memory is changing?"

"The dream is, kind of. The same act, the same situation, and the same setting, but with slight differences, there wasn't even blood in the actual event, or I don't remember seeing any blood. I remember just the bodies on the floor, all three of them."

What is Sasuke talking about? Hinata thought. It could be his parents but then who is the third person? Does Sasuke have more family?

"I think he's coming back." Sasuke said.

"Are you talking about Itachi?"

"I keep seeing him in my dreams, even when I'm awake. I don't know how but I feel like he's communicating with me." Sasuke said, "And he keeps repeating one phrase."

"And what is that?" Kakashi asked sitting forward in his recliner.

Sasuke's breathing became heavier and he seemed to tremble. He fought back his anger and steadied his breathing, becoming relaxed and calm again. "He says 'it's only a matter of time before I become just like him and this is only the beginning.'"

Hinata pulled away from the window and decided to knock on the door. She could hear the voices stop on the inside. She held her breath as she heard someone walk towards the front door.

"Yes?" Kakashi asked as he opened the door and gave Hinata a puzzled look. "Can I help you, Hinata?"

She pressed the ends of her fingers together, a nervous habit. "I was w-wondering if Sasuke was here?"

Kakashi looked at Hinata and then called for Sasuke from over his shoulder. Sasuke walked over and his eyes widened when he saw Hinata standing in the doorway.

"Hinata, what's up?" Sasuke asked.

"We were supposed to work on our project today I thought?" Hinata asked and hid her face behind her hair.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." Sasuke said but he also averted his gaze, something Sasuke never did.

Kakashi moved so Sasuke could walk through.

"I'll see you later, Kakashi." Sasuke said as he walked away with Hinata. Kakashi gave him a wave and closed his door.

….

Anko stood in front of a tall old looking house. She walked up the steps and pushed through the front door. The floor boards creaked with every step she took through the house.

"Anko, I didn't expect to see you this soon." Kabuto said as he walked from down the stairs of the old house. He wore a friendly smile but underneath it was the smile of a serpent. He did work for Orochimaru after all, so it wasn't a big surprise.

"Is lord Orochimaru awake?" Anko asked and leaned against the end of the stairs. Creaks came from the simple movement but she ignored them.

"He's resting, but let me know how your mission went?" Kabuto said, "Was it a success?"

Anko smiled. "I did quite a bit of digging, and Kakashi doesn't suspect a thing."

Kabuto smiled again. "Good, that was the plan from the beginning. Any word on what's happening to the Uchiha?"

"Sasuke doesn't have a clue about what's going on but it seems that Itachi is trying to communicate with him."

"That's very interesting. Lord Orochimaru is going to want to hear about this."

"Oh, and one more thing, I know where the third key is." Anko said with a dark smile.

….


	9. Chapter 9

Haunted High Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for the late update, for most of us. Here's chapter 9, finally. I was in and out of the hospital all week so I had barely any time to edit this chapter, but it should still be good. Read and review, and thanks to everyone who's just started following the story and people who have been here since the beginning. You all rock and stuff.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke pushed open the door to his house and held it open until Hinata walked inside behind him. He shut the door behind them and signaled for her to sit on the couch in his living room. She did as he instructed and took a seat on his sofa.

"Want anything to drink?" Sasuke asked as he walked out of the room.

Hinata shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Sasuke said, "I've got soda and tea."

Hinata placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully and then said. "Tea would be fine then."

Sasuke came back around the corner with a can of soda in one hand and a glass of tea in the other. He smiled as he placed both drinks on the coffee and table and grabbed his backpack that sat on a small table next to the couch.

Hinata grabbed her tea and took a drink. Her eyes wondered about the room, examining everything. He had a TV against the wall, a plasma screen. A game console was plugged in but didn't look like it got much use. The living room wasn't filled with family photos or anything like that.

"Do you live alone?" Hinata asked and surprised Sasuke, though he hid it well.

"Yeah, I do. My parents died and well this house belongs to the family so it became mine."

"Don't you need a legal guardian since you're not eighteen?"

"I do. But he's not here every day. He just comes to check on me every once in a while." Sasuke said and rifled through his backpack.

"I don't think I could live like this. I'd get too lonely." Hinata said and took another drink of her tea.

"You get used to it. Nothing really exciting happens but I like it that way. My life is too exciting sometimes as it is."

Sasuke pulled out one of his many notebooks and placed it on the table. Hinata pulled out her notebook as well and a pen.

"So, what are we supposed to be doing?" Sasuke asked.

"A report."

"A report on what?"

"The book we were assigned."

Sasuke scratched the back of his head and then pulled out all of the books that were in his back pack. Three books lay before him but none of them were school related, they were all books he was reading in his free time.

Hinata looked at the books and smiled as she picked one up. "I think I've read this one." She turned over the book and read the back cover.

"Are any of these the book we need?" Sasuke asked, and looked over his small collection.

Hinata shook her head and grabbed another book. "Nope, but this one looks interesting, I wanted to read it."

Sasuke looked at the book she held. "It's okay, a little slow to start though, but once you get about fifty pages in it picks up."

Opening her backpack, Hinata pulled out an older looking book, most likely a classic. The fabric of the front and the bind were in shambles. It looked like a book you'd find at one of the creepy shops that roll into town around Halloween, the ones that disappeared the next day and no one ever saw the store but you. That's what the book reminded him of.

"This is what we have to read, but the title is kind of worn on the cover." Hinata said.

"It looks like the whole book is worn, and old. Is that thing safe to read?"

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke laughed and waved it off. "Never mind let's just read it."

Sasuke grabbed the book and opened the flap. Dust flew out in a big huff and caused him to cough, and wave the dust away. Man, where did she get this book, definitely a creepy shop in downtown Konoha.

He flipped to the first page and surprised by the lack of a title. He continued until he got to the first set of words, which weren't even in English. The language looked to be maybe Latin or some other old language.

Sasuke, with a puzzled look on his face, skipped through the pages until he got to a page that had only two words written on the middle of the page.

"It comes".

The words were written in bold print and were clearly hand written, maybe as a joke to whoever found this copy. Though with Sasuke's track record it could be haunted or possessed, that was definitely an option.

Hinata, noticing Sasuke's puzzled look, reached for the book. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke showed her the page that was in English and then back tracked to the other pages in another language. "I don't know where you got this book but I'd take it back and get a refund."

Hinata titled her head. "I didn't buy this book."

"Then where'd you get it?"

"Anko gave it to me when she was passing out books for assignments." Hinata said, "You were gone, at the hospital with Naruto I think."

"Anko," Sasuke flipped through the book again. "I saw her at Kakashi's earlier. Maybe she gave us this book by accident."

Hinata fumbled with her fingers as Sasuke read through the book. She glanced up and saw a sword hanging on the wall. It was a pretty sword. "Why do you have a sword?"

Sasuke glanced up then went back to the book. "It's a family heirloom that I got from my father."

Sasuke handed the book to Hinata and walked over to his sword. Hinata flipped through the pages to see for herself. Sasuke pulled the sword down and drew it from its sheath and laid it on the table.

….

Shikamaru kicked open the front door of the rotting old house. He switched on his flashlight as he was followed by Naruto and Sakura. They moved quickly like a cheetah jumping through trees to catch its prey.

That was a perfect analogy, Shikamaru thought, as he walked up the creaky old stairs to a small loft looking area. There were a few more rooms off to the side and down a long dark looking hallway. He wasn't too keen on travelling down the creepy corridor but he needed to do this.

Naruto stood beside him with a big scroll hanging low on his back. He shone the flashlight down the hall and looked to Shikamaru. "Do you want to go, or should I?"

"Don't you have any manners, Naruto? It's always idiots first for these kinds of things." Shikamaru said.

"I'm going to remember that."

Sakura gave them a quick shove and they all stepped through the hallway together. The paint was chipped almost rhythmically and had odd patterns leading from one door to the next. Long marks that had been ground into the walls it looked like, also covered the old white paint or wallpaper. It was hard to tell what it was before.

Finally, they got to a room at the end of the hall. The door was locked but rusted so they could easily kick it open or break the lock.

Shikamaru grabbed the lock and jabbed his knife into the little key hole. He jiggled it around and heard a clicking sound, but kept going until the lock fell off the door. He stepped back to stand next to the others.

A long sigh escaped Naruto's mouth. He wouldn't let the others know but ghosts freaked him out. Sasuke knew it, but Shikamaru was never told, and just getting out of the hospital this wasn't looking good for his health.

Shikamaru stepped forward and stood by the door. Naruto and Sakura nodded their heads in unison and he pushed the door open. It was an empty room, empty except for the terrible odor and floated around the air and caused Naruto to almost lose his dinner.

"What is that putrid smell?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know but it smells slightly familiar."

Naruto walked over to the closet and opened the door, and was happy when nothing jumped out at him. Shikamaru opened a door that led to a small bathroom, which was most likely where the smell came from. He walked over to the shower curtain and moved them back.

"Uh, guys, I think you need to come and look at this." Shikamaru covered his nose with his shirt.

The other two walked in and immediately walked out. In the bathtub was a rotting skeleton with very little grey skin on random places of the corpse. Matted hair was on its hair and some skin was there too. The nails of the corpse were extremely long and sharp, and they had no idea why they would be like that.

Sakura walked out of the room holding her stomach and stopped in the doorway to the hallway.

Something dangled in the air a few feet ahead of her. She looked up and was eye to eye with the corpse in the bathtub. It let out a blood curdling scream and grabbed Sakura's shoulders. She fell back and the claws of the corpse, which was now obviously a girl, dug into her shoulders.

Naruto was first on the scene with his knife stabbing right into the skull of the corpse girl. The corpse got up and stumbled backwards. She removed the knife, and threw it to the ground, letting out another scream that could damage some ones ear drum.

Shikamaru jumped at the girl and tackled her to the ground. She grabbed both of his arms and threw him across the room just as Sakura threw her knife at the girl. The handle smacked her in the face and she flew towards Sakura.

It was too late, Naruto had the scroll on the ground and was already completing the sealing. The corpse girl flew through the air and landed dead center on the scroll. A light appeared around her and absorbed her into the scroll.

They all lay on the dirt covered floor, sweating, and breathing heavily.

"That's number twelve," Naruto announced and closed the scroll.

"One left and then we need a new sealing scroll." Shikamaru said then turned to Sakura. "And what kind of throw was that? You hit her with the handle."

Sakura blushed. "I panicked, okay? It happens, a lot, to me."

"Let's go find Sasuke and show him our handy work." Naruto said and walked towards the door with the other two behind him.

….

"It comes, huh?" Hinata read the words aloud and continued flipping until she saw the sword. She smiled and touched the handle and looked up to Sasuke for approval. He nodded his head and she continued her inspection.

The sword seemed to meld with her hand as she moved it around slowly in the air. It was a beautiful sword made out of a material she didn't recognize. It was harder than steel but didn't cut when she touched the edge of the blade.

"What's it made out of?" Hinata asked.

"Not sure, my father left it for me. I haven't had it appraised or anything so I don't know." Sasuke said and turned at the sound of something moving on the other side of his wall.

Hinata put the sword down and got very silent.

Sasuke moved to stand above Hinata in a protective stance. He gripped the handle of his sword and listened intently. A low rumbling could be heard from behind the wall where his kitchen was. A small screech followed the grumbling and after that a dragging sound.

Anything could be behind that door, Sasuke knew. He suspected whatever it was, was after him. He had to get Hinata to safety that was his first goal, and after that he could take care of whatever was in here with him.

It stalked from his kitchen to his dining room. He moved to crouch by Hinata. "I need you to run and find Naruto and Shikamaru. Once you find them, tell them to run to my house. This is very important and I need you to not make a sound as you pass the kitchen door, okay?"

Hinata almost had tears in her eyes but she nodded and he helped her to her feet. He stood between her and kitchen as she started walking towards the front door.

The scratching sound ceased and Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. Hinata's feet shuffled and a creak came from the floor board she stepped on.

The kitchen door flew open but nothing came out. Sasuke turned at the sound of his table breaking. He saw a massive tail disappear into another room, large and scaled. This wasn't like anything he'd ever seen.

Sasuke pushed Hinata towards the door but it was too late. The giant creature stood on its hind legs. A massive lizard looking creature with long sharp claws and similar teeth stood at a little over seven feet tall. Its tail swayed behind it, knocking things over as it did.

They both stood in awe of the massive monster. Its slightly elongated mouth opened to reveal long sharp looking tongue. The lizard eyes stared at them and they were frozen under that piercing gaze.

The most frightening thing about the creature was its speed. It moved from room to room in the time it took for Sasuke to blink. A knock on the door caused the creature to turn and run, knocking Sasuke and Hinata on to the couch with its massive tail.

Sasuke landed first on the couch with Hinata landing on top of him. He checked her face for any injuries, pushing her hair behind her ears. She smiled and blushed at his touch, but Sasuke didn't notice as he searched her face and then her eyes.

Naruto with Shikamaru next to him pushed the door open and froze. The broken table, love seat, and entertainment center all lay in pieces on Sasuke's floor. Hinata lay on top of Sasuke and looked as shocked as Sasuke felt.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to intrude." Naruto said, "But damn Sasuke you do like it rough."

…...


	10. Chapter 10

Haunted High Chapter 10

A/N: Chapter ten in here, yay? Read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke quickly go off of Hinata and helped her up. His face grew red as did hers. They fumbled for words for a few seconds before Sasuke spoke clearly.

"I'm going to take Hinata home now." Sasuke said, "When I get back we're going out."

Sasuke hurried Hinata out the door and to his car. They got in, both silent, either because they were confused or scared. Maybe it was just the embarrassment. He didn't know, but he did like the way Hinata was still red.

He didn't know why he liked that, but he did, a lot.

She averted her gaze again as he turned to look at her. There clearly isn't going to be much talking on this road trip. She probably forgot about the gigantean creature they saw earlier because of her embarrassment.

She didn't really ask any questions about what it was or where it came from. Which were both questions burning in his mind along with others like; why was it there? What did it want? And why didn't it attack as much as it could? It seemed scared, if that was even possible from a monster.

Hey, anything's possible, he knew that.

"Sasuke,"

Her sweet voice pulled him from his thoughts and back to the real world. He made a left turn before speaking. "Sorry I was deep in thought."

"Oh," Hinata said and turned to the window. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure I guess. You probably have quite a bit of questions."

"I don't actually. I just wanted to know if I should go get a different book from Anko."

Sasuke laughed, not a chuckle or smirk, but a full on laugh.

"Was that a dumb question?"

"No, not at all, you should definitely get a new book. It's just… not the question I expected."

"What were you expecting?" Hinata's face toned down to its normal color now.

"I don't know. Something along the lines of what was that thing? Or where did it come from?" Sasuke said before making another turn, "Why are you not freaked out by any of this?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm not sure, but this is Konoha, and weird things happen all the time. Remember last year when our school was attacked by those men with bad skin?"

Sasuke nodded as he remembered the small, almost, zombie outbreak that happened not too long ago. He was still new to hunting back then, plus they weren't even a real type of zombie, just some people being mind-controlled into thinking they were zombies. The bad skin was just a weird side effect.

"Weird things just happen here all the time, but these guys in cloaks are always there when we need them to be. I've been saved twice by them."

Sasuke let a smile cross his face. "Those cloaked people must be pretty cool then."

"They're the heroes of Konoha."

"Heroes," Sasuke said under his breath.

"They make sure we're all safe whenever something happens. They go out of their ways and into danger for the sake of the people in the town."

"Maybe they're just crazy."

Hinata looked down. "I don't think so. They just have a good sense of right and wrong. And want to help."

Sasuke pulled up into Hinata's driveway, the driveway of her huge mansion. Yeah, she's beyond rich. He stopped just in front of the massive stairway that led up into her house. Hinata opened the door and got out into the cool night.

"Thanks for the ride – and the talk." Hinata said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it. And don't worry about the thing that attacked us earlier. I'm sure these 'cloaked people' will take care of it."

Hinata waved as she walked away from the car and Sasuke drove off after giving a small nod. His thoughts quickly went to what Hinata had just said.

"The cloaked people" Sasuke said, the name just made him want to laugh. But people were starting to notice the weird things that were happening in Konoha. That was good, right? The town's people were becoming more aware of the many dangers that have entered their small town.

That could make things harder as well, but for now that wasn't his worry. He had to think about the thing that attacked them earlier, and his dream. The dream that always put a brow of sweat on him as it wakes him in the middle of the night.

Yeah, that dream needs to be read, but not yet. He'd have time for that later.

….

Naruto and Shikamaru stood around Sasuke's living room as he walked in the door. The remnants of the fight earlier all lay across the floor in a mess that he would have to clean up eventually.

"Why are you standing, I still have on good couch for you to sit on." Sasuke said as he maneuvered around the mess.

They both looked at the couch. "That's okay." Naruto said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Whatever," Sasuke said. "We need to go out and find the monster that attacked earlier."

"What monster?" Shikamaru asked this time.

"It was like a miniature Godzilla, complete with fangs and claws. It didn't breathe fire though so that's a plus."

"So where do we start looking?"

"I don't know actually." Sasuke said.

"Well, where did it come from?" Naruto asked.

"That, I also don't know." Sasuke said and sat on his couch.

"Should we go ask Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"I already tried." Sasuke said, "He's on a date with Anko."

"Wait, Ms. Anko, our English teacher?" Naruto's face slackened.

"Yep, apparently he asked her out after I left." Sasuke said.

A silence fell over the group. Sasuke looked around his torn up room.

"Man, I need to clean this all up." Sasuke said.

"So did you and Hinata…" Naruto trailed off before Sasuke was raising his hand to punch Naruto.

"No, no, and I told you we were attacked by a monster. And not THAT kind of monster." Sasuke refrained from punching him and picked up several pieces of the used to be table.

"Also did you know were famous?" Shikamaru said and pulled a newspaper clipping from the back of his pants. "It says "Cloaked Crusaders Save Town from Gang" and the article is all about finding out who the "Cloaked Crusaders" are."

Sasuke grabbed the article from Shikamaru and skimmed through it. "I'm not sure cloaked crusaders are better than cloaked people."

Naruto smiled. "Dude, it doesn't matter. We're famous now."

"Yeah, but that can have bad repercussions." Shikamaru said, "It won't be long before they start trying to unmask the "Cloaked Crusaders" and plus there will be imitators that will get themselves hurt."

"So what do you think we should do, Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we could always ditch the cloaks for now and just try and keep everything on the down low."

"You might have to tell that to our scaly friend." Naruto said.

"That seems like a good plan. This will boil over eventually."

….

End Note: Sorry this is kind of a slow chapter but it needs to be for what I have planned. Also, I would like this to be the time for anyone who has questions about the story that I either forgot to cover or you're just curious about to ask them in the reviews section and I will answer them, to the best of my ability, in the next chapter.

Also if someone could do a fan art for this story they would be my favorite person ever!


	11. Chapter 11

Haunted High Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Anko and Kabuto walked through the large doorway of the abandoned house that Orochimaru was calling home. Spider webs hung to every corner. Cracks led from the base of the walls all the way up to the ceiling but the house still stood.

Kabuto nodded to Anko to head upstairs. She did as she was told and walked up the creaky stairs of the old house. Once at the top she found one door, that wasn't bolted shut, at the end of the hall. She approached it with the same confidence she always had.

Anko opened the door and kneeled before Orochimaru, who just sat in a chair reading through a book. He smiled his snakish grin and said, "Anko, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I've uncovered some new information." Anko said and held her kneeling position.

Orochimaru laughed and turned from his book. "Oh do tell, child."

Anko looked up and met the man's dark glinted eyes. "They have the scroll of sealing almost complete, and I've given Hinata the book that you requested."

"Good and I feel that the lizard has been released as well." Orochimaru said, "All is going according to plan."

"My lord, if you don't mind me asking," Anko said. "Why did you want me to give the book to Hinata and not Sasuke?" Anko asked with a puzzled expression crossing her facial features.

Orochimaru's grin widened. "The young Hyuga will play just as big a role in things to come as our little Sasuke."

"Won't they get the key once they fill the scroll though?"

"That's where you will come in. I need you to steal the scroll out from under them as soon as they seal lizard in it." Orochimaru said, "And then my plans will finally be realized."

"What is the master plan, lord Orochimaru?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that? Just play your role in all of this and all will be as it should." Orochimaru nodded at Anko.

Anko gave a quick nod of her head and walked out of the room leaving Orochimaru with his book once again. Anko was starting to wonder about the true motives of her master and if she would be discarded after she was used up.

She shook her head. He wouldn't do that to her, after all he did look out for her like a father would. She smiled to herself as she exited the old house and got into her car to drive away.

….

Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru walked down the dark streets. They avoided every street light they could and held their hoods as they walked. The creature just had to be around town somewhere.

"Can we go back?" Naruto asked but it sounded more like a whine. "We've been out here for hours and haven't seen anything."

"No, Naruto, we can't." Sasuke said, "This thing is still out here and we need to find it before it hurts anyone else."

Naruto put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I know, but do we have to be out here so late? I mean this could wait until morning right?"

"No it cannot, Naruto. Now shut up and keep looking." Sasuke said and gave an unsatisfied grunt.

Shikamaru stayed silent as he did during most of their bickering. They bickered a lot and maybe they were really brothers like a lot of people at school thought. They seemed to act like brothers. Always avoiding each other at school but hanging out all the time after school, mostly because they were hunting but that was beside the point.

The three moved to one of the more run down parts of town. The buildings were all abandoned or condemned, and nobody lived there. It would be the perfect place for a monster to hide if they had to.

An old and tall apartment building stood at the end of block, it was entirely secluded from the rest of the town and looked like it had to be condemned. It probably was but there wasn't a sign on the door or gate.

Sasuke pushed open the gate and they walked down the unkempt lawn up to the apartment building.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Naruto said, "Because I've been in one too many scary looking old buildings today."

"Just come on, Naruto. Sasuke won't let us say no, he's in the zone right now." Shikamaru said and pushed Naruto through the open gate. Sasuke was already at the door knocking.

"Why'd you knock?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just making sure." Sasuke said as he opened the door.

The building smelled musty, and looked like it had been abandoned for over a hundred years. The walls of the building looked like they couldn't take much more from the weather and the next wind would blow them over.

"This place looks deserted." Naruto ran his finger across the mantle and brought up his dust covered finger.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, this place is a dump, but what'd you expect?"

"More dead things," Naruto said. "Oh and maybe have some creepy music to play in the background as we walk up the stairs."

"You're watching too many horror movies." Sasuke shook his head as he started to walk up the stairs. He stopped, "Are you coming?"

Naruto and Shikamaru shared a glance before walking up the stairs behind Sasuke. By the time they reached the top Sasuke was already pushing open one of the doors. He took a quick glance inside before heading over to a new door.

A low grumbling noise was heard, followed by a scratching on the door. Naruto froze in place as Sasuke pushed open the door. A human body fell from the door and hit the wooden floor with a sick thud.

"What is that?" Naruto asked in a squeak.

"It's a person and why are you so afraid all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked.

"Is he dead?" Shikamaru asked as he leaned over the body with Sasuke.

"It appears that way, I wonder how long he's been here." Sasuke said and checked the dead person's back pocket for a wallet but found none.

Sasuke moved to check the room behind the man who just fell. The room had a blood covered bed, a TV on a small table, and door that most likely led to a bathroom. The room smelled different from the rest of the house though, a sickening smell, most likely caused by the dead guy.

"Anything in there?" Shikamaru yelled after Sasuke.

"Nothing," Sasuke said and stepped away from the door.

Naruto froze again. "Hey, guys,"

"What is it, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Are you sure he's dead?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty sure, why do you ask?"

"Because he's moving around," Naruto said.

Sasuke turned to see the dead man get up and start slowly walking towards Naruto. "Damn, it's a zombie."

The door next to Sasuke broke off its hinges as two zombies crawled over it. The smell of the dead filled their noses as they tried to back away from the zombies that had just emerged. One of the dead grabbed Sasuke's foot so we swung with his sword and cut its hand off.

"There are a lot of them." Naruto said and backed up against a wall.

"I think this was a trap." Sasuke said as he started swinging his sword at the dead.

Sasuke ran at the zombies, jumped over them, and landed safely on the other side. He stabbed his sword into two and threw them over the banister. Naruto and Shikamaru cut off the heads of the closest zombies and moved to the stairs.

Sasuke ran by, cut off two more zombie heads before making it to the bottom of the stairs with the other two. "We need to get out of here."

"Way ahead of you." Naruto said as they ran out of the room.

….

Orochimaru stood outside of a two story house. He was blending in with the shadows too well for anyone to notice his presence. He watched as people entered and left the house.

Hinata walked from her house with her cousin Neji. She walked him to his car and smiled as waved as he left. She walked back to her house and closed the door behind her.

"Soon, young Hyuga." Orochimaru laughed and faded from view.


	12. Chapter 12

Haunted High Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

"The abyss is closing, and without the keys we won't be able to open it again." A hooded figure kneeled at the feet of Orochimaru, hand extended with a shining red object in it. Kabuto stood in the doorway with Anko standing in the hall, both leaning in.

Orochimaru sat in a chair that he was treating like a throne, his pale fingers gripping the edges of the seat until they became pale. "I know where the keys are but it is not the time to retrieve them."

"But, my lord, if we don't get them soon we won't be able to revive—"

"Silence, we cannot rush this. I've been waiting far too long to let this slip through my fingers again." Orochimaru slammed his hand down on the side of the chair. He coughed into his hand and gasped at the red liquid that covered his palm.

Kabuto left the room and returned with a jar of pills. He opened the jar and handed Orochimaru two pills. "You need to take it easy, my lord. You're not at one hundred percent."

Orochimaru took the pills and quickly swallowed them. The hooded figure cleared his throat before speaking. "My sources tell me that the last key was broken into two for better protecting it."

"Do you know where the two halves are?" Kabuto asked for Orochimaru.

The hooded figure nodded and a slight smile played on his exposed lips. "Yes, one half of the key was hidden within a girl. The moon eyed girl is what I was told."

Kabuto thought for a moment placing his hand on his chin. "It must be a Hyuga they have pale eyes that could resemble the moon."

"I have no doubt that he was referring to a Hyuga but which one?"

"He did mention that it was a girl so we know that much." Kabuto said and handed Orochimaru two more pills.

"Hinata Hyuga," Anko said as she walked slowly into the room. Everyone was silent as she did so.

"Why would you think it was Hinata?" Kabuto asked with a raised brow.

"She's the Heiress of the Hyuga clan. It only makes sense to hide something that precious in someone who matters a lot to you." Anko said, "It just makes sense."

Orochimaru smiled and stood up. "Let's pay a visit to young Hinata."

….

Sasuke walked up the driveway of Hinata's house. They needed to do an assignment and had already decided on meeting at her house. Sasuke had never seen the Hyuga residence before today. It was a spectacle to behold, a huge mansion in such a small town.

The Hyuga were the richest family in all of Konoha though, maybe even the world. The Uchiha once were a wealthy family but now Sasuke was all that was left. He didn't squander what money he had left, but would probably have to do something with it to make it last.

Sasuke knocked on the doors and waited for an answer, he knocked again when no one answered. No one came to the door still. Sasuke pulled out his phone and saw that Hinata's text message did tell him he could just walk in.

Sasuke pushed open the doors and was greeted by a tall man wearing a black suit. The man checked his watch and then smiled at Sasuke.

"You must Sasuke Uchiha?" His voice sounded formal, Sasuke guessed he was the butler.

"That's right and I'm here to see Hinata." Sasuke said as politely as his voice would allow.

"I'm afraid to say the young heiress has stepped out for a moment to talk to another school friend." The butler said and pulled out a tray with tea on it. "Would you like to drink so tea until she returns?"

"I'm not really a tea drinker, so no." Sasuke said, "Which friend was Hinata with?"

"I believe she mentioned his name was Kabuto."

Sasuke froze. There was only one Kabuto at their school and he worked for the creepy pale guy Orochimaru. "Do you know where they went?"

The butler shook his head but Sasuke was already gone. He didn't know where he was going to look but he had to do something. His mind flashed to images of something dark inside of himself, he shook them away and ran faster.

...

"Here lizard, lizard, lizard," Naruto had his hands cupped around his mouth and was shouting to forest around them.

"Do you really think we're going to find it that way?" Shikamaru said with his hands pressed to the back of his head.

Naruto and Shikamaru scanned the small forest just outside of the town. They didn't expect to find anything, and Naruto clearly didn't think they'd find anything with how he was acting.

Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his face and followed behind the usually perky blonde. He seemed bored by the search, but honestly not a single day of their lives was boring. They'd have to fight something new each and every day, and what could be more interesting than that.

"Shikamaru, do you think Sasuke's would care if we ended our search earlier?" Naruto asked.

"Doubt it, but he seemed pretty adamant about us finding the thing that wrecked his house." Shikamaru said as he climbed to the top of a small mound of dirt and studied the prints in the dirt.

Nothing, just like he thought. They were chasing after something that moved so fast that it would take a miracle before they could follow any sort of trail and hope to catch up. They were in no way closer than when they started looking for this thing.

It would help if they had a better description than 'it looked like a giant lizard but move really fast'. Sure that would work most of the time but not right now. It was more of a hindrance than it was an actual indication of where to look next. Maybe Sasuke was just using it as a cover up for what they walked in on, that could totally be an excuse, but something in Shikamaru's gut said otherwise.

Naruto looked to the sky and cupped his eyes to create shade from the sun. "I don't think we're going to find it now, plus its getting pretty dark and I'd rather not wait and see what we else we run into out here at night."

"Oh come on, Naruto. You know as well as I that you would love to see what comes out here at night."

"As much fun as that sounds, I'll pass, also I want to ask Sakura on another date." Naruto said with a smile and nudged his friend. "By the way, when are you going to ask Ino out?"

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. "Who said I was going to ask her out?"

"I saw you and her at the prom." Naruto said, like it was big secret or something.

"I have no intent of asking her out. We went to prom as friends."

Naruto shook his head. "So you're just going to lead her on like that and not follow up? Shikamaru you dog."

"Shut up, Naruto." Shikamaru said, "I'm not going to do any of that and since when is my love life any of your business?"

Naruto laughed as they walked further into the forest. Shikamaru wore a scowl that could easily rival Sasuke's. That only lasted a few moments as they walked across a row of prints that wouldn't match any creature Shikamaru had ever seen before, and he's seen a lot of things in his short life.

"Naruto,"

"Yeah, I see them. Damn it's bigger than I thought."

"That's what she said."

"Really, dude, and you call me immature?"

Shikamaru ignored him and continued walking in the direction of the foot prints. His hand on the knife strapped to his leg.

...

A street light flickered off and on as Kakashi left his house. He could feel the unusual energy flowing through the air that night. The wind wasn't particularly cold, nor did it carry a scent of anything wrong, but it all felt wrong still.

Kakashi walked over to his car and opened the driver side door. Before Kakashi got in the car, he saw Anko walking towards him, she smiled as she neared.

"Kakashi, wait I need to talk to you about something." Anko said.

"Sorry, I'm really busy right now, Anko. We can talk tomorrow." Kakashi said.

Anko put her hand on his arm. "Please, it won't take more than five minutes."

Kakashi continued to get his seat.

"It involves Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru." Anko said.

He looked around and gave in. "Okay," he said. Kakashi got out of his car and leaned against the front of the vehicle.

"You know the scroll you gave to Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, the scroll of sealing, what of it?"

"Do you know what happens when they fill the entire thing with the sealed monsters?"

"I know that it seals them away permanently." Kakashi said.

Anko shook her head. "That's only part right – it does seal them away but it connects them together to turn them into a key."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Kakashi asked.

"Because..." Anko stopped for a moment. "I've done something bad and I need to make up for it."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "What did you do, Anko?"

Anko opened her mouth but no words came out instead she fell to the ground and grabbed at her neck. A hooded figure stood behind her, his hand was on a small orb.

"Anko, why didn't you listen to lord Orochimaru?" The hooded figure said, "We could have saved you from your pain."

Kakashi appeared before the hooded man and quickly knocked him back. He fell back but caught himself. Kakashi ran back to Anko and saw the mark on her neck. The curse mark, he knew it immediately.

Kakashi formed a hand sign and focused his energy on the mark. The seal began to swirl and fade. A flash and the seal was broken, gone was the mark and so was the hooded figure.

"Who was that?" Kakashi asked.

"He works for Orochimaru, but we can't worry about him right now. We need to find Naruto and Shikamaru, they can't complete that scroll." Anko said.

"Why don't we keep the key then? We can't exactly let the lizard creature run around here can we?"

Anko struggled to get to her feet. "I know, but we need to make sure we have the key and not them."

...

Naruto and Shikamaru crept along the path that the monster had taken. They followed the prints to a cave not too far from where they were headed before. The cave entrance was big enough for anything to enter but it was so deep in the forest that few probably ever ventured this far.

Shikamaru entered the cave and clung to the wall with Naruto right behind him. He walked along the stone walls and let his eyes adjust to the dark of the cave. His knife was already in hand, while Naruto held the sealing scroll ready for use.

Their vision slowly became worse and worse as they continued into the musty hole. The light from the outside was fading as well. They were too deep in the cave to go back now.

A deep gurgling sound could be heard from the depths of the darkness before them. Shikamaru grabbed his flashlight and lit it. Tracing the walls with the beam, they didn't see anything until they got closer. A scuttle of feet and the light was knocked from their hands.

Naruto grabbed his and turned it on. The first thing the light hit was a behemoth of green scales and a large tail. The light went up to the giant lizard's face, as it disappeared from sight.

"It's fast, damn." Shikamaru said.

Naruto threw the scroll along the ground and began the ritual. "I'll need some time, keep it distracted but don't let it leave."

"Didn't plan on it," Shikamaru said as he dodged a swing of its tail. He ducked down under the arm of the beast. He couldn't keep the speed up for long though.

As if on cue, Shikamaru gets knocked into the hard rock wall. His head smashed into one of the jagged rocks. His world began to blur, shapes, colors, all of it was a blur mesh. He couldn't focus on the tail coming at him.

He was sent flying again back to where Naruto performed the ritual. Naruto put in the last seal just as the creature ran over to finish off Shikamaru. The creature swirled, cried, as it was absorbed into the scroll. It fell into place and the symbol of the beast was signed on the piece of paper.

The scroll of sealing caught fire.

"What's happening?" Naruto tried to stomp it out but it continued to burn until a small shiny stone was all that remained.

He picked up the stone and looked to his friend. Shikamaru was in bad shape, like really bad shape. Naruto put the stone in his pocket and carried his friend out of the cave and back towards town.


	13. Chapter 13

Haunted High Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters or themes mentioned in this story.

….

Sasuke checked the park, he checked the shops, and he even checked the school, though that seemed unlikely. He had no idea where Hinata was now. He tried calling her but that didn't work, nothing has so far.

"Damn, where could he have taken her?" Sasuke said as he ran the routes in his mind. He had to find Kabuto and fast.

Sasuke drove to Kakashi's house. Getting from his car, he grabbed his sword from the back seat and headed for the door. He pushed it open, no time to knock, and found Kakashi in the living room with Anko, Naruto, and a very hurt looking Shikamaru.

He went from being worried about Hinata to worrying for his friend as well. "What happened?"

Naruto looked up with a weakening smile. "We caught that lizard thing, he got hurt, but not too bad." Naruto said, "Did you know Anko was a medic?"

"No," Sasuke said as he took the only open seat in the entirety of the living room. "Kakashi, I need your help. They took Hinata."

"Who took Hinata?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke's fists clenched tight. "Kabuto and Orochimaru, those snakes took her."

Sasuke didn't know how to describe the look that crossed Kakashi's face at that moment. A mixture of grief and a deeper understanding, that's the best way for it to be explained.

"Do you know something I don't?" Sasuke asked.

"Lots of things, where should I start?"

"This is no time to be playing games with me. I need to find her." Sasuke said, but it came out almost like a growl.

Kakashi rubbed his chin but before he could speak Anko quieted him.

"Let me handle this one. I owe you, Kakashi." She said, "Where do I start?"

"Do you know where Orochimaru is hiding?" Sasuke asked.

"He stays at the abandoned house on Fifth Street, the one with the broken windows, and big tree in the front yard, but I don't know if he'd take Hinata there. You see she's very important to him, and I don't know if that place would be safe enough for her."

Sasuke's silence was her cue for her to continue.

"Hinata has one of the keys that Orochimaru needs to open a door to the otherworld. Some of the strongest creatures ever to come into existence dwell in the other world, banished by the seven and their mystical powers. They then locked off the otherworld door with seven keys, and those keys were hidden all over the world." Anko recited the story like she'd done it a thousand times.

"How does Hinata have one of these keys?" Sasuke asked, cooling off a little as he listened to her story.

"She only has half of the key actually, and it's not the part he needs." Anko said, "The other half is hidden away where none of us knew to look. Whoever hid it knew what they were doing."

Sasuke thought for a moment and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a tiny red stone that was a complete circle. "Is this one of the keys?"

Sasuke handed the small red stone and she examined it with a tilt of her head. "Yes, did you get this when you killed the werewolf?"

"Yeah, it fell from it after we killed it." Sasuke said as he placed the stone back in his pocket.

"Wait," Naruto said as he scrambled for his back pack. He pulled a small green stone from it and smiled his usual big goofy grin as he held it out to Anko. "I think I have one too, it appeared after the scroll burned up."

"Will Orochimaru come for these?" Sasuke asked.

"Eventually, yes but for now he will just take the one that's been hidden in Hinata, and after that he will come for the rest." Anko said.

"So what can we do?" Sasuke asked with a sense of urgency in his voice.

Anko looked down for a moment. "Well they have to have to do a ritual to get the stone out of Hinata. They'll most likely need more men than he has to complete the ritual as well. He did mention going to an abandoned factory to finish his work, you could start there."

Sasuke nodded and looked to Naruto and the unconscious Shikamaru. "I'll be back, but Naruto you need to look after him, okay?"

Naruto nodded and Sasuke was already leaving the house and entering his car.

...

Sasuke wore a long, heavy, hooded coat. It was something he kept in the back of his closet for occasions like this one. He needed to sneak in, and he couldn't do that if he was noticed right away, but with this coat he'd blend in with the other cult people here, if they were a cult that is.

Regardless he would still have his identity concealed and that was all he needed. The plan was as followed, get Hinata, escape the place unnoticed, and head for Kakashi's while telling Hinata a story she might believe about what had happened tonight.

That seemed easy right? All he had was hope at this point. And even that wasn't much. He needed to find a way to get her out unnoticed, and that would prove to be a problem if worse came to worse.

Sasuke exited his car, parked a few blocks from the old factory, and started his walk towards the factory. It wasn't too far of a walk, but he made sure to park far enough away that they wouldn't notice his car. Yet it was still close enough for when they needed to escape.

Sasuke threw his hood over his head and walked out from behind the building he'd parked by. He almost laughed when he saw a large group of people going into the factory, all with similar cloaks to his.

_That makes this a whole lot easier._

Sasuke fell into line behind the group and followed them in, making sure to keep his hood low enough to mask him completely. All but his mouth and nose were hidden by the thin clothe veil.

The crowd moved quickly from the outside of the factory and into a giant room filled with old machinery and a layer dust so thick it could be used as a blanket. Sasuke watched the others and copied their movements perfectly. He really couldn't afford to stand out.

The crowd was surprisingly quiet, except for the thuds of the feet walking around. At the front of the crowd, on one of the old factory machines stood Orochimaru with Kabuto at his side. Sasuke watched them intently as the crowd settled around him.

Orochimaru smiled as his gaze went out over the large mass of people in front of him. His snake like gaze seemed to linger on Sasuke longer than was appropriate but he continued looking over everyone else. Sasuke's hand fell to his sword neatly tucked away on his lower back, perfectly hidden under the cloak. He may have to fight his way out of here.

Kabuto stood and raised his hands. As his hands went down, everyone around Sasuke started to bow. He did the same with fear of being found out. Sasuke kept his gaze on them, even when bowed, and not entirely bowing at that.

Sasuke would bow to no one.

Orochimaru waved and everyone stood in unison. His slithery gaze was once again on Sasuke, but this time only briefly, and at that moment Sasuke knew it was going to be a brawl soon.

Kabuto cleared his throat. "We stand at the start of something great. Something that will change the way the world works. No longer will we be repressed and treated as the bad guys."

The crowd nodded as he spoke. Sasuke watched and listened intently.

"The world has treated us like dirt, like we've wronged them somehow, but no more. Tonight starts the revolution, the war will begin, and with it comes the destruction of those who try and keep us down." Kabuto said, "Our lord Orochimaru will lead us into this new generation created by our revolution."

"A revolution," Sasuke thought. "What's your game, Orochimaru, and what do you want with Hinata?"

"The world will bow before us and worship lord Orochimaru as they should."

"Kabuto, that's enough." Orochimaru said, "The real reason you were all brought here wasn't just to hear the revelation."

The crowd seemed to cheer, but it was as energetic as it should have been.

"The true reason you're all here is to witness the beginning. To relinquish your power so we can extract the key." Orochimaru said.

The key is Hinata. Sasuke knew that, and he knew he had to stop them before they could do that.

"The key is the start to opening the gate. We are in possession of one of the keys and another is hidden inside- " Kabuto stopped as a girl was pulled up onto the machine and laid at his feet. "-her. This girl holds a vital piece of the plan."

The girl was clearly unconscious and in no way aware of what was happening.

"Hinata," Sasuke said it quietly so no one heard him but he could barely contain his anger.

Orochimaru stood from his spot atop the machine and raised his hands. "Now – lend me your power."

The people of the crowd each raised a hand, just one, and soon a blue light flowed from their hands and up into the snake eyed man before them. Sasuke moved through the crowd, using this display as a chance to get to Hinata.

He moved like a lizard maneuvering around rocks. His movements were precise and without hesitation. Orochimaru continued to absorb the power from the people in the crowd, and Sasuke was almost there. Only a few more steps and he'd be in front of the crowd.

Sasuke stopped as a thought crossed his mind. How was he going to get Hinata if Orochimaru was this powerful? He was already really strong but now – he was unreal.

The blue energy stopped flowing and Sasuke was caught in the crowd of people near the front.

A wide grin broke out over Orochimaru's face. "Your power was – a noble sacrifice. And now so are your lives."

Hoods came off of many of the individuals in the crowd to reveal skulls. No flesh just bone and black holes. Panic spread across the crowd as the skeletons began to pull swords and rip through anyone standing nearby.

So this was his plan, steal their power, and then kill them to keep it all for him. Evil was clearly the only way to describe him. His followers had no chance with their power all inside of him.

"Yes, shadow minions, kill them all. No survives this night." Orochimaru said through the same dark grin.

Sasuke pulled his sword as a skeleton jumped towards him. He parried the creature and cut it in half. The bones collapsed on the floor and turned to dust. Sasuke climbed up the old factory machine just in time to see Orochimaru picking up Hinata with some invisible power.

Sasuke charged him but was cut off by Kabuto holding a sword of his own.

"It's nice to see you again, Sasuke." Kabuto said.

"Wish I could say the same." Sasuke slashed away at Kabuto but each hit was blocked.

"Is this girl really worth all that much to you?"

"Now, that's none of your business, now isn't it?" Sasuke said as he applied pressure on Kabuto.

Orochimaru created a red line of energy and sent it into Hinata. Her eyes opened and her mouth opened as she cried out in pain. Anger tore through Sasuke as he pushed Kabuto off of the stage and into the crowd of skeletons.

Half of an orb appeared in Orochimaru's hand. As soon as it did, he dropped Hinata, but Sasuke caught her before more damage could be done. Her breaths were quick and laborious against his chest.

Sasuke moved her to a safe spot behind him as he ran at Orochimaru. Orochimaru didn't even move or try and dodge him. All he did was put up his hand and Sasuke was sent flying away from him. Sasuke hit the machine hard enough to break every bone in his body, and when he landed on the ground, there was a dent left in the wall behind him.

"Damn you," Sasuke said.

"Sorry, Sasuke, someone's already beat you to it." Orochimaru said.

"How did you know I was coming?" Sasuke asked.

"It was obvious that you would show. You have something I want, Sasuke. Now give it to me and you can leave freely with the Hyuga girl."

"No way in hell is that happening." Sasuke said.

He examined the room in that moment and saw his escape. Sasuke ran over to Hinata and picked her up just as Orochimaru closed in on both of them. Sasuke jumped from the machine and landed on one of the skeletons.

"Sasuke," Hinata mumbled as she looked up at him.

Sasuke didn't hear what she said as he was too worried about escaping with his life. A row of skeletons blocked his only exit. So much for that idea, Sasuke thought.

Sasuke shifted Hinata and pulled his sword out with his left hand. He swung it and expected to kill only the skeleton in front of him but lightening shot out of the blade in a wave that leveled all of the skeletons and turned them to dust.

With his opening made, Sasuke ran over the several piles of dust and back out into the cold night. He didn't stop running until he could see his car. One glance over his shoulder told him that no one was following them.

He put Hinata in the passenger's seat and buckled her up. He was driving away a few minutes later and leaving everything behind him.

...

"Lord Orochimaru, should we chase him?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru shook his head. "No, we can't waste this opportunity. We'll get another chance."

"Yes, my lord, but what was that ability that Sasuke used? Was it magic? I didn't know he knew how to use magic." Kabuto said.

Orochimaru shifted uncomfortably as his fist tightened. "No, that wasn't magic. It was his power. He wasn't supposed to be able to use it yet. Damn that Uchiha brat."

...

Sasuke rushed into Kakashi's house with Hinata still cradled in his arms. Kakashi opened the door to his guest bedroom and let Sasuke inside. He placed Hinata on the bed and let out a sigh as he collapsed into the chair next to the bed.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"A lot," Sasuke said as he grabbed his side. "Orochimaru got the key out of her. I think she's okay but she might be really tired from it."

"I understand that, but what happened to you. I've never seen you so hurt." Kakashi said.

Sasuke looked down at his battered body. One hit, it only took one hit from Orochimaru to put Sasuke in this much pain. Pain he'd mostly forgotten about while running with Hinata.

"Orochimaru is stronger than I expected. He-he almost killed me." Sasuke said.

"You should rest in the other room. I'll have Anko take a look at Hinata and then heal you."

Sasuke shook him off. "I'm fine, just have her look after, Hina-" Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence as he fell unconscious as he tried to stand.

Kakashi caught him before he hit the ground. "You're tough, but a little big headed sometime."

Kakashi picked up Sasuke and walked towards the next room.

...

"Sasuke!" Hinata awoke with a sudden jerk and reached forward only to find nothing in front of her but empty space. She rubbed her eyes as her vision adjusted to her surroundings.

It took her a moment to realize she wasn't in her own bed. She didn't recognize the room at all. It was nicely furnished and looked like it had never been used before.

Where was she? That was the first question that crossed her mind quickly followed by 'how'd she get here'. The last thing she remembered was being carried somewhere by Sasuke.

That brought a red blush to her face but it was quickly replaced with her worry about what may have happened to Sasuke. She got out of the bed and headed for the door. She pushed through it and found herself in a place slightly more familiar.

It was Kakashi sensei's house. She could tell by the way it looked. Hinata had only been here once but she had a photographic memory. She continued into the living room to see Kakashi and Anko sitting on the couch.

"Oh, look who's finally awake." Anko said.

"Miss Anko, what am I doing here?" Hinata asked.

Anko looked to Kakashi before speaking again. "We kind of need to talk about that."

A sudden worry flooded through Hinata. "Where's Sasuke? I remember seeing him before I passed out."

Anko's smile faded and she looked downward.

"Wait, did something happen to him? Is he okay?"

"He's in the other room." Anko said, "But he's still not conscious yet."

Hinata looked down and then got up. She walked over to the room they had mentioned before. She pushed open the door slowly and saw Sasuke's unconscious form breathing haggard breaths.

She covered her mouth. She wanted to cry because she knew that he got hurt helping her. She didn't remember exactly what happened but the memories came together in a way that showed Sasuke as the one who helped her yesterday.

Hinata sat in the chair next to Sasuke's bed and took his hand. It was all she could do to thank him, and to help him.

"His injuries were far more serious than he let on," Kakashi said. "We had no idea he'd been through so much."

"W-will he be okay?" Hinata's breaths were faster than they should have been.

"He'll be okay," Kakashi put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "He just needs rest."

Hinata smiled and put her head down. "Is it okay if I stay here with him until he wakes?"

Kakashi nodded. "Stay as long as you like."

With that Kakashi left the room and closed the door behind him.

Hinata just stared at Sasuke. His perfectly sculpted face looked like it was in more pain than she ever thought she'd see on his face. His usual solemn expression was one she'd not seen before.

The idea that he got hurt because of her was causing her inner pain. She wasn't worth what he went through. He almost died just to keep her safe. That was more than anyone could ever do for her.

Hinata fought back the tears threatening to run down her cheeks. She had to stay strong for Sasuke, that was the least she could do right now. An hour passed by and she could feel her nerves threatening to give away again.

Sasuke was always nice to her, well not always, but he didn't treat her different like the others in school. Sure, she was the daughter of the richest man in the town, but that didn't mean she needed special treatment. No one listened to her though. She was treated different since she was first put into school.

Everyone, but Sasuke, but he didn't treat her badly. He just didn't treat her like she deserved the world on a platter because she was rich. She understood why he didn't now. She also knew why Sasuke acted the way he did.

She remembered this one time, way back, back when her mom was still alive and Hinata was in second grade. A boy was picking one her every day for a week. She tried everything to get him to stop but he wouldn't.

Finally she had it and she was going to fight the boy but he towered over her, and there was no way she could hope to win the fight. Just as the first fist was thrown her way Sasuke was there. He caught the boy's hand and twisted it until the boy was on his knees. Then he kneed him in the face. The bully ran home crying after that.

Sasuke told her something that day before he left.

He said, "Don't pick fights you can't win. I won't always be around to help."

Those words stayed with her. Even after his parents died and her mom died, she held onto that saying. She wanted to be strong, so she wouldn't ever lose a fight again.

When her mom had died she felt awkward in school. It wasn't right anymore she remembered. Nothing was right, and the world was clearly out to get her. That's when Sasuke started to treat her differently. Not a bad differently, but a good one. He helped her whenever she needed it and even stuck up for her, up until recently.

He became very secluded these past two years. She still didn't know why but she was still grateful for everything he'd done for her.

She couldn't take it anymore and clutched at his chest as she leaned on him with tears streaming down her eyes.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry. You got hurt because of me." Hinata said between sobs.

She clutched his shirt and cried for a few more minutes until she heard something.

"Hinata, why are you crying?"

Hinata looked up to see Sasuke's eyes open slightly and looking up at her. She smiled and leaned in pressing her lips against his. Time stood still forever it seemed, stuck in that moment.

When she finally pulled away, she was met with Sasuke's surprised gaze. It quickly turned to his solemn look and he reached up and wiped a tear from her eye. She hugged him tightly after that and cried into his shoulder.

...

AN: So, this chapter took a while to write, I hope you all like it though. I will be updating more regularly, sorry about the delay guys. All updates will be on the weekends now, mostly Saturday and Sunday. So leave a review and let me know what was good and what was bad.


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